Wizard Detective Saga: Part Two
by Paladinium
Summary: The second part of the series, Harry and Hermione must face a new threat of a new kind this threat involves Flint, foul creatures, and a deceiving necromancer. HHr, Lots of Violence COMPLETED.
1. New Life, New Adventure

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Harry Potter or any other character that J.K Rowling owns; I own the plot plus other unknown characters.

**_A/N:_** Hello, boys n' girls; long time no see … Well, not that long, but I have to say that I missed you all. I was thinking about how to begin the second part of my saga; and to tell you the truth, I have only few plot points that guides me. So, this part will be very, very short compared to the previous one. Now, on with the story …

* * *

**New Life … New Adventure**

It was a slow night at in Nevada, and a lone guard was starting to get bored with the idle patrol. He secretly wished for some action, but that also means wishing for trouble, so he kept his thoughts to himself and lighted his tenth cigarette for the night thanking his luck for not consuming all his cigarettes on his first watch. He lighted the match, but a sudden gust came out of nowhere and the fire he just lighted was blown out. He readied his M16 as he heard footsteps nearing.

"Who's there?" he called firmly, but no body answered. His hands clenched on the rifle as the sound of footsteps was getting nearer and nearer; and suddenly, a light-blue flat beam appeared out of nowhere and cleaved his head off his shoulders, and his rifle dropped along with his body.

"And stay down …" a cold voice echoed out of nowhere as the footsteps resumed, the next minute a death eater started to appear gradually as his concealment charm began to fade.

"That was it for the easy part …" the death eater said as he passed the main gates of what appears to be an abandoned plantation, but in reality, it was only a cover for one of US Army's top secret bases, Area 51. He transfigured his clothes into military attire similar to that of the fallen soldier, and changed his facial figures to resemble him, and then went straight to a nearby barn where found a small corridor leading to dead-end; he inserted his hand into a small crack in there, and the wall moved away revealing a high-tech elevator, he stepped in slowly, and the elevator began to descend until it reached a busy high-tech corridor in contrast to the scene outside. He walked with confidence executing a will rehearsed role, and followed the signs to the target zone.

"Hey, Alex; I thought you were patrolling the exteriors" a soldier called for the disguised death eater, and he cursed under his breath before turning around and answering casually "I am, but I was summoned down here. But don't worry, everything is quite out there"

"Even so, the exteriors must be constantly patrolled in case a nosy tourist has lost his way or something. I wish I could cover for you, I could use some fresh air; but unfortunately, I have to keep an eye on the maintenance guys while they perform their routine check on the aliens' chambers"

The death eater's eye gleamed as he heard the last part "The aliens' chambers, you say …" he replied slowly "I can do it for you if you want to cover for me"

"Deal … And you don't screw up on me" the soldier went to the elevator, and the death eater resumed his path not helping but to smile for his luck. He reached the aforementioned room and unlocked the door with a simple 'Alohomora' spell; he held his breath as he eyed the two corpses of the aliens

"At last, the bodies of the imps are mine" he muttered breathlessly, and unlocked the first cryogenic chamber and began to thaw the ice with a warming spell.

"What the hell are you doing?" a voice called from behind, and he snorted in fury as he turned around; he saw two men in overall looking upon him in confusion.

"I was checking the chambers, and I noticed some water leakage" he said the first thing came to his mind "Check it here"

He pointed at a puddle of water that was created by his warming spell, and the maintenance personnel stepped forward and leaned in front of it "Good thing you noticed it, we will work on it now"

The death eater exhaled in irritation as he glanced at his watch; he have only few minutes left before anybody notice the body outside. And as his mind was read, the walky-talky began to echo "All personnel, this is Patrol Two; Patrol One is down; I repeat, Patrol One is down; if anyone ever encountered Private McLowsky, make sure to report him to the nearest watch; he is an imposter; I repeat …"

The maintenance personnel eyed the walky-talky in horror, before looking back at the mentioned soldier. They saw him pointing a piece of wood at them while smiling maliciously; and the last thing they saw was a green spark shooting out of the tip of the wood piece.

The whole patrol force of area 51 was searching the compound after they closed it and made sure that there was no means of escape available; one of the searching parties was near the aliens' chambers and heard the commotion inside, they dashed toward the chambers, but all what they saw was the bodies of the maintenance personnel, and an open chamber of one of the aliens … And it was empty.

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Hermione moaned irritably when the alarm clock began to ring loudly, she blindly extended her arm and turned it off before sitting up lazily and then made her way to the bathroom; after that, she exited her room and heard a commotion in her parents' room while she was on her way to the kitchen. And, cautiously, she walked toward their room and eavesdropped on them.

"Dear, be quite in your tying; we shouldn't disturb Hermione" Emma said.

"I know, Emma, no need to tell me; but this bloody belt doesn't want to be fastened" Dan replied angrily; and she could hear her mother sigh before speaking "This is because you didn't arrange the clothes neatly; here, let me do it for you"

"You know, dear; I love you so much because you always solve my problems" Dan replied, and Hermione barely kept the laugh from getting out.

"I know, Dan; just don't make a habit of it. Now, let's hurry before Hermione wakes up"

"Going somewhere?" Hermione said as she opened the door and she saw that her parents took their time in preparing their baggage "Appears to be so …"

Emma looked at her husband with a scolding 'I-warned-you' look, before answering Hermione "Actually, Hermione; you know that our planned vacation is about to end, so we decided to move our flight forward so that we can arrange our matters at home early. Unfortunately, the only flight we found was early in the morning; in fact, we got only two hours to catch it"

"And you were not planning to tell me" Hermione replied with a hint of reprimand in her voice, and Dan stepped into the conversation "Well, Hermione, it was my idea actually" she shifted her scolding looks at her father, who continued on "I told your mother that you are felling tired and we didn't want to bother you; we know our way through the city by now"

"No you don't" Hermione retorted "You almost got lost last week when I called you"

"No we did not" her father replied "It was a planned detour because your mother wanted to see Hollywood"

"Hollywood was the other way around, dad" Hermione said coolly "I will take a quick shower and then drop you at the airport" she finished her sentence then made her way to her room not bothering for a reply. She collected her clothes and entered the bathroom. She turned the water on and waited for it to heat up, and as the water began to flow, her memories were, too

FLASHBACK

_"Battalion, confirm your status" Harry's voice echoed through the wireless waves, and Hermione received it via her headphone that was issued to her by Dick per Harry's order._

_"Secondary Phoenix, standing by" Ron replied via his own mic, and waited for further orders._

_"Alright, South Phoenix is descending" Harry replied, and Ron leaned back at a nearby tree sighing loudly "Now, all what we can do is waiting"_

_"I just hope that everything goes smoothly" Hermione said with a nervous tone, and Ron chuckled lightly albeit nervously before replying "Knowing Harry, I don't think so"_

_As if his words triggered a jinx, a series of explosions were heard along with Vlad's voice across the ether waves "It's a trap, sir; death eaters"_

_"Good Lord!" Pierce, who was silent since the beginning, whispered hoarsely; Hermione's nervousness doubled as she addressed Ron "Ron, we have to do something"_

_"Yes, we have …" Ron said, then turned to his aide "Anna Maria, order the whole team to retreat to point alpha" The auror obeyed his command and they began to retreat as Hermione eyed him in disbelief before questioning in disapproval "Retreat?! Is that all you can do?!"_

_"Yes" he replied firmly "Harry is the high commander in this operation if you have forgotten, and he does not take disobedience lightly"_

_"But the infiltration has been exposed before its time, and we need to improvise and-" she said in a hopeless attempt to convince him, but he stopped her with a hand wave "Improvising will only gain me an appointment with the disciplinary committee"_

_"Not me …" Hermione said before beginning to walk toward the mansion, but then she felt a firm grasp around her wrists, and turned around only to see that it was Pierce who grabbed her._

_"Herms, you of all people know what does it mean to disobey direct orders; it can place the whole operation into jeopardy" he said with a soft voice and a smile on his face._

_"He is right 'mione" Ron remarked "If you knew Harry better, you would knew that he is like a lone wolf, he attack swiftly and painfully where he should be, other people will only impede him if they tried to help"_

_"But wolfs work in packs sometimes, and the results can be advantageous" she retorted stubbornly._

_"That's right, but Harry will not be less than the leader of the pack; and will put himself in front of danger, as always" Ron replied patiently "You cannot change his style in a day and night, Hermione; just let him be and you will see how things go"_

_Just as he finished his sentence, Harry's voice echoed through the wireless "Assault teams, report your status"_

_"We are taking a beating, sir; and the death eaters are unreachable because they are on higher grounds" Vlad shouted through the headphone, and Hermione eyed Ron with an 'I-told-you-so' glance; he smiled at her and mouthed "Just wait …"_

_As he finished his words, Harry's voice echoed again "Assault teams; are you near the base of the wall?"_

_"Yes, sir" Vlad replied; then Harry ordered "Bring the walls down"_

_Ron, Hermione, and the whole team felt the tremor of the explosion from their far location; and Hermione stood dumbfounded at what happened._

_"Do you believe me now?" Ron said calmly, although amazed with what happened._

_"I do …" she said absent-mindedly "But I still feel uncomfortable; something bad will happen, I can feel it"_

_"Don't be so tense now, Herms. Nothing will happen; you will see …" Pierce remarked. And she muttered "I hope so"_

_They waited for full ten minutes before feeling a strong electromagnetic surge felling the atmosphere "What the bloody …" Ron said in astonishment, but the scene of fleeing death eaters cut him off._

_"About time they showed up. Everyone, take your designated positions" Ron ordered the auror team, and some of them hid under the illusion charm, while the others hid behind trees. They waited until the death eaters came into range, then Ron shouted at the height of his voice "Now!"_

_Hermione couldn't count how many spells has been unleashed, but she was certain that no fly can pass across the field untouched. She saw different colored beams flying toward the surprise-taken wizards, along with several objects that appeared out of thin air like ropes, chains, and energy cords._

_"Brilliant" Hermione said breathlessly as she eyed the now-fallen death eaters._

_"I can say that myself …" Pierce retorted before punching Ron on his back "Good Job, Wes. I've never seen an ambush being executed in such perfect way even in our police force"_

_"Years of drastic training can come up with that" Ron said as he tried to regain his balance, then he heard a commotion closing up from afar "Another group is coming. Everyone, remove the detained death eaters and prepare your selves for another ambush"_

_The aurors obeyed his command and levitated the unconscious death eaters away from the path, and then they assumed their previous positions and waited. Ron eyed the upcoming group and waited them to be in range; but when they came up close he realized that they were the remaining aurors from other teams._

_"Wait! They are friendlies" Ron stopped his team from firing their curses; and got out of his hiding only to face the first of the aurors; Vlad himself._

_"Auror Weasley, sir" Vlad saluted him hurridly "Situation under control, but not entirely; there is …" he was cut by a loud explosion that came from the direction of the mansion._

_"What the hell ..." Pierce said in astonishment; and Hermione noticed that someone is missing "Where is Harry?" she said in a shaky voice, and Vlad turned to her "That's what I was going to say; Auror Potter ordered us to evacuate and he stayed behind trying to contain the magnetic orb generated by the EMPA"_

_"By himself only?!" Ron said in a mix of anger and disbelief._

_"Please, Ron; we have to go inside and get him, no one should be near this strong surge of magnetism; he could die … Please" Hermione pleaded with all her heart fearing that her savior might die._

_"No, sir; Auror Potter insisted that no one tries to rescue him. He is so intent on containing this orb all by himself" Vlad said "As I soldier, losing one commander is better for me than losing both"_

_"And as a friend, losing Harry is something unbearable" Ron retorted "I'm going"_

_He took only two steps forward; then they all saw a fire blazing a short distance from them. Ron and Hermione ran toward the source of fire, and what they saw was surprising._

_"Harry!" they said in the same time when they saw the unconscious Harry who was rescued by none other than Fawkes. Ron stepped forward and tried to enervate him, but he didn't get up. He then checked up his pale, unconscious friend while Hermione eyed him in fear praying silently "He is not breathing" Ron said in concern "And his pulse is weak; he must've used all his magic without reserve. I hope we are not late"_

_"What's happening Ron? Why isn't he conscious?" Hermione questioned with double fear._

_"He used all his magic, and there is barely enough left to sustain his life" Ron answered, and Hermione dropped on her knees barely holding up her tears from spill "Oh, God, no; he can't die now, not after we won"_

_"Sir let me check him up" Sofia, who came along with the rest of aurors, said "I am the team's medic"_

_"No, you are injured and weak after that hard battle. I'll try to pass some of my magic to him, keep your fingers crossed" he placed his hands on his chest as if he was going to perform CPR, and Hermione saw a warm, bright beam moving from Ron's hands into Harry's body. After a minute of transition, they heard a groan coming out of Harry; she looked at him in sheer happiness but found that he still unconscious "Why isn't he waking up?" she asked in concern_

_"It will take time for his body to recuperate after such extraordinary magical exhaustion; it is an unusual situation after all" Ron replied, then sighed heavily "Frankly, I've never held much hope in resuscitating him; no wizard can withstand the pain and weakness of being stripped out of his magic, Harry is lucky to have such endurance. Anyway, I have to take him to the hospital for further follow up; Vlad, rally the aurors and order a clean up for the battlefield, I bet the muggle police will come and check the source of the racket unless they are deaf"_

_"I'll go with you, Ron" Hermione said anxiously, but her offer was turned down._

_"Sorry, 'mione" Ron said "I have to go alone, regulations matter" he said before disapparating with Harry's unconscious body._

END FLASHBACK

Hermione sighed deeply before getting under the warm shower; she remembered everything involving that eventful night, even what the awestruck aurors told her about the dueling between Harry and Flint. Even though she knows what Harry did in her rescue night, she still gets fascinated by the simple description of magic.

She finished her shower and stepped out to her bedroom, and shuffled through her dresser for some clothes, and then her hand hit a hard surface. She pulled it up and the sight of the object reminded her of another event; it was a book she bought when Harry invited her to visit that magical alley, its name is Brimstone Alley as Harry told her. She found many eerie, yet fascinating things in that alley; the bank itself, the pet shops, sports shops, clothing shops, and even wandmakers shops; but what attracted her most was the bookshops. She bought this book along with several others; Harry insisted on paying for the books as she wasn't carrying any wizard currency.

_'A gentleman, as always'_ she thought to herself. She leafed through the book quickly recalling the intriguing contents; it was a biography book about Harry written by a wizard historian, it contained many interesting information regarding the life of Harry Potter as a child, student, and adult. She got excited by the live pictures that accompanied the written details, and felt as if she was living the story more than just reading it, she flew with Harry in every Quidditch, she dodged the flames the horntail during the triwizard tournament, and she was hit by grief during the funeral of Dumbledore. But what intrigued her most of all was the dueling between Harry and Voldemort, she never felt excited and scared at the same time like she did when she viewed the only picture of that battle, and when she did, she realized that the power that Harry displayed during her rescue was merely one tenth of his real power.

She opened the last page and checked the magical counter that was entitled 'Harry Potter Net Income'. The author of the book inserted this counter to show the readers an estimate of Harry's wealth, the counter was magically charmed and connected to Gringotts accountant office so it can show an accurate and updated estimate of the net worth of Harry's wealth, and the figure were constantly moving upwards whenever she checked them.

But that was not what truly amazed her; the unbelievable fact that stunned her out of her mind was that Harry is a lord; his family members were and still considered lords of Wiltshire, and they own estates in several towns in the county. His grandfather and father before him were lords by heritage, and Harry has been appointed lord of Wiltshire also by heritage as he came to age earlier than invalidation of the hereditary peer decree by nearly one year.

"You are really something, Harry Potter" Hermione said while sighing deeply. She returned the book back to its hidden place not forgetting to glance over the other books she bought along with it. The first was 'Hogwarts: A History' that captivated her at the first sight, she found a list of alumni inside the book, and found out that Harry was the head boy of his class; she also found that Ron was a prefect. The other book was 'History of Magic', from where she learned a lot of facts about magic and the magical society; she also stumbled upon an appendix containing famous wizards and witches since the beginning of magic; surprisingly, she also found Harry amid the famous wizards; his famous alias was 'The-Boy-Who-Lived', and he was considered the youngest grand auror in the history of magic, and the strongest wizard in whole Europe.

She returned the books to their safe place, and put on some clothes before walking out of the room toward her parents'.

"I'm ready" she said as she entered the room.

"And we are all set" her mother replied while zipping the last bag.

"Then let's be on our way" Hermione said and picked up one of the bags.

-------------------------------------------

During the whole trip to the airport Hermione kept silent while her parents engaged in a conversation. While her body was driving, her mind was deeply immersed in the information she red about Harry. In al her life she never thought that one day she will meet a business tycoon face to face; in fact, she didn't like the idea as she already preserved a pre-impression in her mind about them as coward and cruel money fiends and vile old men. And the fact that Harry is a kind hearted young person, not to mention that he is the bravest man she ever met have thrown that pre-impression straight to the nearest bin. But then again, Harry had broken many other rules that are applied to normal people. They reached the airport, and unloaded the baggage. Dan went to put their baggage in the loading bay, which left Hermione with her mother; Emma noticed her daughter's absentmindedness, and tried to bring her back.

"Hermione, dear; is something bothering you?" she said in concern, which was enough to bring Hermione back to earth.

"Sorry, Mum" Hermione said "I was just thinking"

"Thinking about something …" Emma retorted, then smiled evilly and continued "Or someone?"

"Mum, you …" Hermione pointed a warning finger at her before dropping it and answering in surrender "Alright, I was thinking about Harry"

"I knew it" Emma said in victory "You already fancy him, I see"

Hermione blushed for a moment before chiding "MUM! It's not that; I was thinking about his biography and how he could acquire such traits in this young age, completely unbelievable"

"True" Emma said in a serious tone, before shrugging "But who said that his life was ever normal"

"What I mean, mother, is that he got everything a person can dream of; money, power, and youth; not to mention that he is a lord. Why does he have any interest in befriending me, a commoner? It's just like if I'm a chalk mark in his feats record; I feel so … Unimportant to him" Hermione sighed heavily "I don't want to be a charity case"

"Who said that you are, Hermione?" Emma retorted "It is him whom I pity" she said attracting the attention of her daughter.

"And why is that, Mum?" Hermione asked, and Emma smiled "Because you got the thing that he craves most"

Hermione looked at her mother in confusion "I got something Harry does not? What can it be?"

"Parents …" Emma said with a smile "No one leads a perfect life, Hermione, not even someone as successful as Harry can. One can conclude from the story that Ron told us about him that he never felt the love of a mother, nor the care of a father"

"But he got the Weasleys, and their mother is more than nice to him" Hermione retorted, and Emma nodded in approval "True, Mrs. Weasley is a wonderful person and she cares so much about Harry as I found that during the wedding; but she is not his true mother, she cannot sense his need or discomfort; only his true mother can do" she sighed heavily before continuing "You should pity him not envy him, Hermione; he lived all his live with one goal, to revenge his fallen parents; and everybody else expected him to lead them to victory disregarding his will and emotions, it is a sad life if you look at it from this perspective"

"I ca clearly see your point, Mum" Hermione sad in a gloomy tone; and Emma spoke to her brightly "Don't look like he has lost his life; he might have lost his parents, be he still can raise a new family" and she looked at her meaningfully "YOU can raise a new family"

Hermione stood gaping at her mother's bold remark; and Emma walked away with a smile toward her waving husband leaving her astounded daughter with a revolving mind.

------------------------------------------

_'YOU can raise a new family'_ Emma's statement twirled in Hermione's mind, who bid farewell to her parent's and returned to her car.

_'I'm just afraid of that'_ she said in her mind; she always thought of just having a friend or two, a boyfriend, and a successful job; but the idea of having a husband was considered a bold move by her. She always claimed that having a family is not suitable for a police detective in order to cover her apprehension, and that statement angered her father every time they discuss the subject; gradually, this matter slipped out of her mind piece by piece, and the rest was buried in the depth under her complicated thoughts. But now, after she quit her stable job at the force, her mother triggered this sensitive subject again, and in the right time.

_'Yes'_ she thought to her self _'Harry has helped me, comforted me, and literally saved my life, and this is the only way I can repay him'_

_'By tainting your friendship with unneeded entanglements?'_ Hermione practical mind spoke to her.

_'By helping him raising a loving family, our family'_

_'I say that is much unneeded; you barely had any friends, and now you want to lose a rather good friend, maybe the best you'll ever find, by pressing him into a this matter. You will lose a friend and a lover, if there ever was one'_

_'Good point, but this is not the right time or place to discuss this matter'_

_'Like there will ever be one …'_

_'Enough, I don't have time for this nonsense; just stay out of my mind for the time being'_

_'I am your mind, silly'_

_'… Right'_

And Hermione finished another silent conversation; she stopped in front of a medium-sized building and parked her car in place. She hurried up the ladders to the second floor, and then she stopped in front of an apartment where a nameplate is visible at the right side of the door, the name was 'Potter Investigations'. When Harry insisted on financing her private career, she also insisted on naming the office after him, as he was the real owner of the office. He accepted reluctantly, but not after she pressed him to it.

"Okay, time to work" she said as she pushed the door open, and the entry hall appeared before her with the secretary desk visible at the other side of the room.

"Morning, Amanda; busy as ever I see" she greeted her secretary who never left her eyes of the magazine she was reading.

"Hello, Detective Granger; it's good that you are here, A man, who never told me his name, is waiting for you inside" Amanda answered while here eyes were glued on top of her magazine, and Hermione's eyes widened "Inside! Oh no!" she hurried inside expecting the worse with the presence of an 'unusual' guest inside.

"Sorry, sir. I am terribly …" Hermione began apologizing for the mystery client, before stopping at her tracks and looking with widened eyes at the newcomer.

"Good morning to you too, Hermione" the mystery man spoke, and she jumped at him greeting him and hugging him fiercely "HARRY! It is you really; oh, I'm so relieved"

"'Mione … please … Breathe" Harry said with difficulty, and Hermione let go of him; he took a deep breath after that and spoke "I see that you have developed a Weasley's bear hug while I'm away"

She giggled before replying "Thanks to Mrs. Weasley on that"

Harry smiled and walked toward the remarkable bird and stroked its feathers "By the presence of Hedwig here, I assume that you have received my letter"

"I did" she replied "And to say the truth I was astonished by the way it came by, is it the normal wizard post delivery to use owls?"

"It is, although I have to admit that it is not convenient for nowadays" he said while stroking the snowy owl "But I cannot bring my self to think of life without my beloved Hedwig; she was the first true friend I've ever had, and it would be unfair to get rid of her after all she did to me"

He pulled some owl treat out of his pocket and gave it to Hedwig, who nibbled his finger in affection before starting to nibble her treat, and Hermione found the scene really fascinating. After he finished treating the owl; he extended his arm to her and she hoped on joyfully.

"Now, time to stretch your wings, love" he opened the window and Hedwig took off smoothly. Harry then tuned to the mesmerized Hermione, and smiled at her "I know this is an unusual scene for you, but you have to get used to it now that we've shared my little secret"

"I know, Harry; but I can't help getting fascinated" Hermione said, then she noticed that was missing "Harry, where are your glasses?"

He smiled and replied "I no longer need them" and his mind drifted in the flow of memories …

FLASHBACK

_"This is not acceptable, Harry-kun" Tatsuya exclaimed in apparent anger as he disarmed Harry for the third time in their training duel._

_"Sorry, sensei" Harry apologized "But my mind cannot stop thinking about what Flint has said …"_

_"What Flint has said is not of our concern right now" Tatsuya retorted sternly "In a duel, you must now think of anything, or else you will level many breaches for the enemy to take. Now pick up your kendo stick and let's start again"_

_The training went on for three continuous hours which left Harry in utter exhaustion; after a quick bath, Harry resumed in reviewing his memories about Flint's revelation. He turned to his mentor, who was polishing some swords, and asked him in concern "Sensei, Flint said that he would summon an undefeatable army using the EMPA's magnetic orb. Have you, by any chance, had any vision regarding that army?"_

_Tatsuya looked at him deeply before replying "So that explains it …"_

_"Explains what, sensei?" Harry questioned eagerly, and the elder took a deep breath and began talking "I told you before about my vision of the phoenix sacrifice, and that the darkness will cover the land before the ultimate illumination. Apparently, the darkness in this vision has faded as a result of your triumph over Flint"_

_"Does it mean that the prophecy has been annulled?" Harry said in confusion, and the old seer shook his head negatively "No, prophecies cannot be annulled, but they can be delayed. It appears that Flint is the one distained to bring the darkness to this land; and your effort of tracking him down has prevented him from doing so"_

_"So, it is a good thing after all" Harry retorted._

_"Yes, it does mean more time for your training, which brings us to this important matter" Tatsuya replied, then leaned forward "I have been thinking for some time, and I came to conclusion that it is the right time …"_

_"Right time for what sensei?" Harry inquired cautiously._

_"Training you on the phoenix techniques, of course" Tatsuya answered "It would be a shame that the descendant of the phoenix doesn't know any of these magnificent techniques. It will take some time to get adapted to, and some impediments will be discarded" and he pointed a finger at him "Like your glasses for instance"_

_"When do I start, sensei?" Harry said with eagerness, but was calmed down by the old sage "A minute, dashing. First we need to improve some of your close-quarter magic, and then begin training on something mandatory for an accomplished wizard; at least it is my opinion"_

_"And what is it, sensei?" Harry asked n confusion, and Tatsuya smiled and answered vaguely "You will know soon enough …"_

END OF FLASHBACK

"Hello, Harry …" Harry snapped out of his deep thoughts by Hermione's call "Yes?"

"I asked you where you were during the last three months, but you seem to be distant" she asked him in eagerness; and all what he did is smiling and saying "Training …"

Hermione pouted and replied "Don't try to convince me that your so-called training was the reason for your sight correction, Potter" then she leaned and questioned "You didn't have a laser surgery, did you?"

He chuckled at her remark "No, not at all. Actually, I used some king of potion that corrected my vision in a magical way; and believe me; you don't want to try it"

"Ah, I forgot your magical potions" Hermione said nodding "I would like to read some magical potions books; chemistry labs were my favorite at school; oh, it brings back memories"

Harry smiles then remembers something "Speaking of memories, you once told me that you resisted mind control by a death eater …"

"Yes" Hermione said remembering obnoxious encounter with faux Harry "He tried to force me to kill my father. He almost succeeded, but somehow my mind didn't accept it"

"Impressive" said Harry as he looked at her in amazement "You know, Hermione; not all wizards can resist the imperious curse; and they can try to resist, but eventually they are forced to yield. Only the strong-minded can resist the curse fully, and they are merely a handful" then he looked at her with a smile "In other words, you have achieved an outstanding feat without even needing any magic to utilize, Hermione; and I am more than happy to help you in developing this new talent of yours"

Hermione looked at him in confusion during his explanation, but when he reached the part of offering his help she was astonished "So … That means I will be able to use magic?"

He shook his head and answered "Unfortunately, no one can develop magical abilities unless he has the magical essence within him, which you don't have. But I can teach you to resist mind probing, which will develop your resistance to any other kind of mind control"

Hermione couldn't contain her happiness; she can finally learn something extraordinary, and from none other than Harry himself. She jumped up and hugged him fiercely.

"Hermione … Please … Not again" Harry said as he tried to breathe; and at that moment, the door opened.

"What a happy couple, you are; I wish I had a camera with me" the person who stepped into the room said in a comical manner; and Hermione let go of Harry and blushed fiercely.

"Oh, hi Ron" Harry said trying to gain his composure after that embarrassing moment "How are you doing?"

"Not better than you, mate" Ron said with a cheeky grin "I came to say hello to Hermione only to see you two … Intimate"

"Nothing happened, Ron; I was just thanking Harry for something he offered me" Hermione said as she tried to fight the blush.

"He must've offered something tremendous for you to hug him that way" he retorted "And I, too, came to offer him something, but without hugs"

"What is it, mate?" Harry said as he tried to change the course of the conversation.

"The minister order your presence at the ministry as soon as you return; it appears that Flint has appeared again"

Upon the hearing of the name, both Hermione and Harry tensed, and Harry replied slowly as he walked to the door "I will be on my way, then"

After Harry walked out of the room, Ron turned to Hermione with a mischievous grin on his face "Now, tell me what Harry has offered you …"

--------------------------------------------

After exactly ten minutes, Harry was standing in front of the door that leads to the minister's office. He entered the room and greeted the secretary "Hello, Meg; I believe the minister ordered for my presence"

"Hello, Auror Potter; and yes, the minister is waiting for you inside" Meg greeted back and ushered him toward the office door. He entered the office and found the minister immersed in some paperwork.

"Minister, I am here per your request" Harry said, and the minister startled a bit.

"Oh, you're here at last, Potter. Have a seat" he ushered him a nearby chair which he assumed casually, and before the minister even spoke, Harry asked the first question "I hear that Flint has finally appeared, sir"

Minister Malone grimaced before replying "These are just assumptions, Potter. The accurate statement is that Area 51 has been stormed by an anonymous person"

Harry looked at the minister in confusion "I feel that I heard that name before, but I don't know when and where"

"Area 51 is a very famous military site in muggle society; it contains something that was presented in their movies … Aliens and UFO" Malone said the last words slowly, but that didn't reduce any of Harry's confusion.

"I still cannot find a relationship between this and Flint, sir" he said, and Malone sighed before explaining everything.

"You explained in your previous report on Flint that he was trying to open some kind of portal using the stolen EMPA; well, I think that he is trying that again, but this time by another method" his eyes narrowed as he said "The last of the imps …"

"Imps?!" Harry exclaimed in astonishment "But I thought they were extinct decades ago!"

Malone nodded "The Wizard World hunted these notorious creatures for their crimes against humanity; but some of them succeeded in escaping from our grasp and hid will among the ruins of their underground tunnels. Unfortunately, those who have escaped were imp shamans, the most dangerous of all the imps. They tried to open some kind of inter-dimensional tunnel that they tried to use to bring more forces of their kind, but luck was on our side as their tunnel collapsed crushing most of them save two powerful shamans" Malone closed his eyes before continuing "The Ministry confiscated the body of these two shamans, and stored them in Area 51 as aliens and the muggles took the bait and believed them to be so. Since then, Ministry officials from the Department of Mystery researched the bodies in order to develop the magical society"

The minister stopped, but Harry was still confused "But what does that do with Flint, sir?"

"During the infiltration of Area 51 by the unknown personnel, one of the bodies was stolen" Malone said, and Harry's eyes widened as his intelligent mind found the connection quickly "The imps used to open inter-dimensional tunnels; and if Flint was responsible for the attack, then …"

"He would try to open his wanted portal … Yes" Malone continued "And that's what I want you to prevent. Your main objective is to prevent Flint from opening his portal, and prevent any further infiltration of any unwanted personnel. Your second objective, however, is to protect the remaining body of the imp and retrieve the stolen body of the other imp shaman; we do not want to take any chances against an enemy like Flint, but keep in mind that it is a secondary objective"

"What if I couldn't protect the remaining body from plundering?" Harry said eyeing his superior with a significant glance, and Malone returned the glance with a similar one "If we couldn't keep the bodies of the imps, neither should Flint"

"I understand, sir" Harry smiled slyly, and the minister waved at him dismissively "Now, go and arrange your team for transportation. Your new HQ and the location of Area 51 will be disclosed to you upon your arrival to the designated town" he handed him a sealed envelope "Do not open this envelope unless you are in a secure area. It contains the location of the town, and it is rigged with an incendiary spell that will ignite it after ten seconds of opening"

Harry took the envelope and bid the minister farewell, he walked out of the ministry muttering "Sorry 'Mione; I think your training will be postponed for an unknown period …"

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**_A/N:_** This is the first chapter; the second will take some time until I can gather my thoughts of the whole part. So, see you soon. 

Read & Review Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease


	2. Arid Inspection

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's characters; some of written characters, however, are of my creation.

**_A/N:_** The second chapter is up, and it contains some new revelations; enjoy, but don't forget to review.

* * *

**Arid Inspection**

Hermione found herself in an unknown land, surrounded by endless darkness. She didn't know where she is or what she is doing here, but deep in her mind she knew that she have to run away as fast as she can. She began running forward hoping to find a shelter, but then she felt a tangling sensation in the back of her neck. She turned but only eyed the homogenous darkness behind her; then she saw it; darkness more dark than the dark itself. It came hovering from far away, and she just felt panicked looking at it, she was about to resume her fleeing, but she saw a little girl coming from afar running in an attempt to flee the imminent darkness. She tried to reach the girl before the darkness, but it was too late as the darkness engulfed the screaming girl, and her screams was muffled. Hermione shivered at the malevolence she witnessed; and turned around to resume her flight. Before she even take one step, she saw a body that was not there before, and it appeared to be lifeless; she carefully approached the limp body and turned it over, and she gasped loudly as she recognized the dead body; it was Harry's.

While she was investigating the dead body, she didn't pay attention to the malevolence darkness that was approaching here slowly and confidently; and she was taken by surprise when the darkness encircled her and began tapering little by little, and she was certain of death. While the darkness was constricting around her, she heard mocking, yet cruel, laugh, and a voice came out of nowhere addressing her "You are next, Granger …"

-------------------------------------------

"NO!!" Hermione yelled as she woke up from her troubled sleep, causing Harry to jump in surprise.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked her in concern seeing that she was sweating and shivering.

"I'm alright; it's just a bad dream, that's all" she said as she wiped off the sweat off her face.

"Are you sure? You don't seem right to me" Harry said with unconvinced tone.

"I'm alright, Harry; believe me; nothing is wrong. It is just that the dream was bad enough to prevent me from returning to sleep" she persisted in her statement, and then looked at him "Let me drive"

"But you don't seem to be alright; and …" Harry tried to protest, but he was hit by a long rebuking look from Hermione "I told you that nothing is wrong; don't you understand?!"

"Okay … Okay" Harry said in submission, and he pulled over so they can switch seats; Hermione then changed the transmission and the car began to move. Harry sat back silently but kept glancing at Hermione every now and then, he then fell asleep after a few minutes, leaving Hermione alone with her busy mind. When he told her that a new mission was assigned to him, she 'convinced' him in letting her help him in the name of their partnership, and she insisted on traveling to the mentioned town the normal way. He agreed in the end and rented a 4x4 car for their travel; and now, she was driving in the middle of nowhere with Harry sleeping in the seat beside her. She sighed heavily when Harry's name passed through her mind, and she began to recall her recent troubling dream.

It was not the first time she had this horrible dream; in fact, it was the seventh one, and everyone was similar to the previous one; but this time it was far clearer that any time she saw it. In previous times, she couldn't recognize the face of the corpse, but now she knew who the body belongs to, and what a gruesome discovery that is.

She looked at Harry, who was sleeping like a baby, with apparent concern _'I never thought that you would be so unlucky, Harry'_ she thought to herself _'Even in dreams you suffer'_

As soon as she finished her sentence, the car began to fail; so she pulled over and turned off the engine.

"What happened?" Harry said looking fully awake.

"I don't know, the car just began to act funny" Hermione said in concern, and Harry stepped out of ushered her to open the hood. He checked the engine then told her to try the engine switch, but with no avail.

"What is wrong with the bloody car?" Hermione said annoyance as she stepped out of the vehicle, and Harry replied as he passed her "I think I can try on last thing …"

As he finished his words, he took off the gas lid, and the hot fumes pushed out of the opening.

"How did that come to you?" Hermione said in amazement, and he answered without interrupting his check up "It was a mere hunch, new car does enclose some exhaust gases on their first trip, and our car is new"

Hermione sighed irritably and eyed the distant horizon where the sun began to rise then she said in an annoyed tone "What should we do now?"

"I think that we can do one thing only" Harry said as he put back the lid and then looked at her "Walking"

"Walking?! Are you serious?! Do you know how many miles separate us from the village?! It can take hours or even days on foot!!" Hermione exclaimed in a brilliant mix of anger and disbelief, but Harry kept his cool as he replied "I'm afraid that we don't have much of a choice. Now, shall we? Early 'bird takes the worm they say"

Hermione looked at him in utter disbelief, and fought the urge to strangle him out of his mind 'He can't be human' she thought to herself 'No human can keep his cool under similar circumstances'

Harry picked up their entire luggage, and charmed them so they can fit into his pocket "Now, let's be on our way"

"Wait, why don't you do the same thing to the car" Hermione said harshly "Or cars are on your black list of magic"

"Actually, I thought it would be quite eerie if a new car was found in our possession after we've been seen reaching the village on foot, don't you think so?" Harry remarked with a sly tone that made Hermione boil like the mad.

'This no-good, low … He has the nerve on- … Oh, bloody' she kept her thoughts to herself, and then began to walk with Harry on her tail.

"Look, Hermione. We are going on a difficult mission, so no need to be tense, okay?" Harry tried to cool her down, but she only gave him one astounding outburst "I just want to know the lame reason that forced me to come with you"

"Now you said it" Harry said impatiently "Let me remind you that you were the one who insisted on coming with me, and you even tried to blackmail me by threatening to expose my true identity to the press if I refused"

"You …" Hermione muttered and her face turned red; she pointed a finger at him and replied "Don't try to say that it didn't scare you"

"I actually accepted your proposal because I wanted some company with me during the trip" he said dryly "And I would like you to try and reveal anything about me. They will throw you in the first asylum before you even say 'magic'"

Hermione huffed and resumed her walk, and Harry looked at her in uneasiness before following her 'I never knew she was that moody; this mission does not tolerate any unnecessary arguments. Although I have to admit that have gone a bit too far in pissing her off'

'He is truly unbearable; if only he know how much I am afraid for him … I cannot bear losing another friend' Hermione thought gloomily, and they both walked side by side with a pregnant silent hovering over them. They walked for countless hours, and stopped every now and then. But they didn't speak a word after their quarrel, and Harry felt awkward about this pointless situation.

They walked and walked for hours, and the sun reached noontime; Hermione felt dizzy and exhausted as the sun began to affect her, then she felt a shade covering her and cool breeze blew out of nowhere; she looked up and saw that an umbrella has been placed above her.

"Keep this above you" Harry muttered, and she mumbled her thanks to him fighting an urge to ask him about the way this cool breeze works 'Probably another magical trick of him' she thought to herself, and took the umbrella from him. Finally, she couldn't keep silent for any longer, and questioned nervously "Are you sure we are on the right track?"

"I don't have a clue" Harry answered "I don't see any person to ask for directions, and this rural road does not help in tracking the right ones. It is better to stick with it until we find a shelter"

Hermione threw herself on the ground in surrender and sighed deeply "Well, I don't think I can walk anymore. There is not a single inhabitant in sight, and I don't think we will see one for the next ten miles"

Harry smiled and sat beside her "We can rest for a while, if that is what you want"

"Splendid" Hermione replied casually, and Harry chuckled at her. He conjured a large umbrella and a water jug for them to drink and repose.

"Say Harry …" Hermione said, as she seemed to forget their recent quarrel, and he turned to her with questioning eyes "Why don't you conjure a car for us so we can resume our travel?"

"Ahh … You see, Hermione; there is a problem" Harry replied "Wizards can only conjure what they can picture in their minds; and the complicated the object needed the harder the conjuring. Cars, unfortunately, are in the complicated category; and for the wizard to be able to conjure a complete car, he needs to picture every bit of it from wheels to the engine itself"

"Oh, I see …" Hermione remarked, and then returned to her silent.

For a whole ten minutes no word has been uttered by any of them, and Hermione kept eyeing Harry with side glances and say that he was deeply thinking 'Must be the mission they gave to him' she thought to herself, then a question came to her and she looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Harry" she said "Why have you chosen to get involved in the law enforcement, auror as you call it?"

He eyed the distant horizon taking his time to think of an answer "A simple question, really; buy I'm afraid that the answer is not quiet the same simplicity. You already know that I was an orphan since I was a year old because Voldemort killed both of my parents and tried to kill me; be all what he did was hurting himself and leaving me this scar" he revealed his most famous scar "then I net Dumbledore at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and for the first time I felt the warmth and security of having a parent; as he was the closest thing of a father to me. Also, I met many friends in my years at Hogwarts like Ron and Ginny for instance; and I felt that Voldemort cannot touch me while I'm completely protected"

"But you were wrong, weren't you?" Hermione asked

"Yes I was; I was completely wrong. There was an inter-school competition called 'The Tri-Wizard Tournament', and I was competing in this very tournament; and during the tournament, Voldemort conceived a plan that would enable him to catch me. He succeeded in this plan drawing me and a fellow competitor in the process. To show his absolute power and further my suffering, he killed that student; and I've never felt as helpless as I felt during that time"

"How did you survive suck sticky position?" asked Hermione, who was intrigued by the story.

"Frankly, I truly believed that I am as good as dead" Harry replied casually "But clearly I have underestimated my survival abilities, or my 'Sheer Dumb Luck' as Professor McGonagall calls it. Also, Voldemort was overconfident that I easily found a mean to escape during our duel"

"Duel?!" Hermione said in confusion; and Harry explained "Wizards duels are challenges between to wizards that usually ends with the death of one of them; similar to your muggle one-on-one fights except more horrid"

"You dueled a full grown wizard while you were in your school years?!" Hermione exclaimed in astonishment.

"My first duel, that was" Harry replied "But obviously not my last. I dueled him one more time, and it was his last indeed"

Harry took a minute to relieve his mind from the emotions that accompanied such hideous memories, and Hermione respected his silence; then he resumed "What I want to say that my main feeling was total insecurity; he can reach me anywhere; I am a dead man walking. Dumbledore sensed my downed spirit, and tried to mentor me in self-confidence; he also aided me in the quest to destroy Voldemort once and for all. Unfortunately, he, himself, was killed by Voldemort during that quest"

"How terrible!" Hermione exclaimed "And he was the only one you consider a parent"

"True, so you can easily predict that my feelings at that time; totally collapsed and utterly lost. I lost my protector, and anyone who tries to get close to me is doomed. At that time I tried to find a way to attain power, a kind of power that everyone even Voldemort would think twice before attempting anything; a kind of power that could enable me to protect my loved ones" he cracked a smile before resuming "And that is how I decided to become an auror …"

Hermione's mind revolved as she reviewed the story again and again. It was no less astonishing that any other of his stories, but it was somewhat different than any of them.

'Maybe because it was told by Harry himself, not just another stupid biography' she thought to herself, but there are still a few questions unanswered.

"Harry …" she said "If you were looking for a way to overpower Voldemort, why didn't you tired your utilize your lordship status?"

He smiled meaningfully before answering "I knew that sooner or later you will discover it; but to tell you the truth, Voldemort did not hesitate to attack wizard nobility; let alone a young half blood with mere lord rank. Political power is not my game, and it could not stop him because the only proper way to stop him was to use fire against fire, and magic against magic" he sighed deeply "Maybe I am a lord, Hermione; but not by heart, and only in the muggle world I am" then he leaned toward her "But that doesn't mean I haven't tried to pull some strings in order to dry Voldemort financial resources"

"Pull some strings" Hermione repeated with a slight smile "That sounds political to me"

"I am learning" he retorted before getting up "And I think we had enough repose; let's move on, shall we?"

"_Who dares to disturb my slumber?"_

A deep voice echoed, and Harry's expressions changed from friendliness to stern as he heard it, and Hermione noticed the change and felt nervous about it "Harry …"

"Not a single move …" he said slowly and firmly "Someone is here"

"What?! Where?!" she said as she looked around cautiously before looking back at Harry in confusion "No one is around, Harry"

"I told you I heard someone" Harry insisted

"_Move 'yer foot, boy. You're blocking ma hole"_ the voice echoed again, and he smiled as he recognized the language "He is down"

He moved his foot revealing a small hole; and Hermione gasped as she saw a rattlesnake coming out of it.

"_Sorry, I didn't notice your hole"_ Harry apologized.

"_This is not just another hole, boy; it is ma home"_ the snake retorted, then he noticed something _"Wait, am I talking to a man; does that mean 'yer a wizard?"_

"_I am, sir"_ Harry answered as he leaned down, and the snake caught a glimpse of the scar _"Well I'll be … 'Yer Harry po'ter"_

"_How did you know?!"_ Harry asked in surprise.

"_There's no snake 'n the world that doesn't know ya', 'yer a damn legend in 'ar world after what ye' did will that son of a bitch Nagini"_

"_Oh, I see"_ Harry retorted not helping to smile.

"_What in tarnation're ye' doin' in this no-man land?"_ the snake asked as it rested its body over a nearby rock, and Harry replied casually as if he was talking to a human _"Our car went out of fuel; and we need to reach the village of Los Cuatros by sunset"_

"_You're on the right track, boy; but ya' need a car to reach it by sunset though; there's a gas station behind that hill; you can get a car and fuel from there"_

"_Thank you, sir; I appreciate your help"_ Harry thanked the snake properly.

"_I'm not a sir, son; ya' jus' call me Bill"_ the snake replied; and Harry smiled _"Alright, Bill; would you like to accompany us"_

"_Nah, I think I'm gonna hang out a bit under the sun; but I'm too ol' for this shit; besides, you need some privacy with your gal here"_ Bill motioned toward Hermione, who was shocked beyond belief.

"_Bill!! Where are you; You lousy, good-for-nothin' crap?!"_ another voice came out of the hole that made Bill jump at his place.

"_Oh shit; the missus is calling; catch ye' later, boy"_ Bill said before jumping back into the hole; and Harry couldn't help but laughing. He then turned back to Hermione who looked pale.

"Hermione! Oh, I'm sorry; I'm terribly sorry" Harry said as he paced toward her, she spoke absentmindedly "What … How …"

"I'm sorry, Hermione; I totally forgot to tell you that I can speak to snakes" Harry helped her up, and she looked at him in terror "In a minute I thought it was not you, I was afraid"

"You are right to be afraid; it is not a common gift actually, it was one of many gifts Voldemort 'bestowed' on me the night he tried to kill me"

"You sounded so dark, Harry; you sounded so unhuman" she said with a shaky voice.

"That is because the language I spoke with is unhuman; it is called 'Parseltongue', literally the snake language" Harry explained "Now, let's get going"

"Where to?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Bill the snake told me that there is a gas station behind that hill, so we can buy some fuel for our car" he answered, and she looked at him astounded "The snake … has a name?!"

"Of course; what did you think" Harry answered "And you were wrong along the way"

"About what" she questioned, and he cracked a smile before replying "There was an inhabitant in the area"

------------------------------------------------

Per Bill's directions, Harry and Hermione reached the gas station and were able to bring their car by means of a tow truck; they refueled, not forgetting to check the car for any other malfunction; then completed their road trip. They reached the village of Los Cuatros by sunset as planned.

"What a lovely sight" Hermione said sarcastically while eyeing the deserted streets.

"At least it is better than a night in the open desert" Harry said casually as he parked the car near the village hospice.

"What is our next step?!" Hermione asked.

"Finding the contact, of course" Harry said as he walked toward a man who was slumbering at the porch of the hospice.

"Such terrible heat" Harry said to no one particularly.

"It is called Indian summer, son" the sleeping man said suddenly causing Hermione to flinch; and Harry replied with a casual tone "But I see no Indians around"

"They are history" the no-longer slumbering man said eyeing Harry seriously, and the latter retorted "But not their summer"

Hermione didn't understand the conversation or the purpose of it, but she saw the man getting off his chair and motioning the inside.

"What was that all about, Harry?" Hermione questioned, and Harry looked at her with a smile "Our contact"

"This man?! So …" Hermione said, but the man interrupted with a firm tone unlike his previous sleepy one "Our contact code, ma'am. The hideout is this way sir"

They followed him without a word, but Hermione couldn't help feeling amazed at such organized work.

"We are here, sir" the man said as he stopped in front of a solid wall between room eleven and fifteen; and Hermione noticed something missing "Harry, where is room thirteen?"

"It is your hideout, ma'am" the man answered before handed Harry a piece of paper.

"Thank you" Harry answered while reading the paper; after he finished, he handed the paper to Hermione who read it carefully.

'Room Thirteen, between Room Eleven and Twelve; what does it mean?' she thought, but the answer came to her as she saw a door with number 13 appear in front of her.

"Let's get in" Harry said to her as if it was a normal thing. They entered the room and saw that it was bewitched to look like a suite.

"I will be your secret keeper, sir; and I am an unspeakable so don't worry about an unneeded exposure" the man said before exiting the room.

"Okay, Hermione; choose your room" Harry said, pulling her off her astonishment "Well, I'm still amazed, Harry; this room was not here a moment ago"

"Simply, it's magic …" Harry answered casually, before looking at his watch "I will call my team while you choose your room; then we will head for the town"

"Okay" Hermione said brightly, then stepped into a spacious room "That looks good enough" she mumbled; then suddenly, a disgust feeling overcame her, and she saw a small body at the far end of the room.

"Hey" she called "Are you okay?" the paced toward while trying to fight off the nauseating feeling. She glanced at the downed body, and a squeal got out of her as she eyed it disgustingly; she didn't know what it was, but it was the ugliest creature indeed; but something was not right about it. She was about to touch it, but she heard the door burst open and she turned around quickly only to see Harry pointing his wand to the inside of the room.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry said as he put away his wand; and she replied "I'm okay. Come Harry, quick; there is something you should see"

"See what?" Harry questioned in confusion, and she answered impatiently "See this …" Her eyes widened as she looked at the place where the strange body was, except that there was no body at all.

"Nothing is there, Hermione" Harry said almost in a whisper; and she retorted in an outburst "But … But I swear; there was a dead body here; and it was of a strange creature"

"Are you sure you are alright, Hermione?" he asked again cautiously; but she didn't answer him as she glanced over the room.

"Hermione …" Harry repeated; and she shock her head "I'm fine, Harry. I-I just want to get out of her"

"But you haven't chosen your room yet" he replied, and she looked at him in plea "Please, Harry; I want to be out of here"

He looked at her in concern before smiling feebly "Okay, let's begin our information hunt"

--------------------------------------------

The door of the bar opened, and everybody fixed their eyes on the newcomers; a young man and woman; in other words, Harry and Hermione.

"A pub?! Is this your idea of gathering intel?!" Hermione said under her breath; and Harry shrugged before answering "Where else would you find a place with all those good people willing to share?"

"Share fleas and alcohol after felling their sorry bodies with it to the brim" Hermione replied in a grumble, and Harry chuckled without replying. They walked toward the bar, and Harry motioned to the bartender.

"A newcomer; we don't see many of 'yer these days" the bartender greeted them.

"Vegas is more attracting, to be honest" Harry repeated calmly, and the bartender bellowed with laughter "Hell yeah; 'yer right on that. 'Yer slang is not American; where are 'ya from?"

"Great Britain" Harry answered; and the bartender whistled in astonishment "A long way, that is. Let me serve 'ya somtin'; it's on the house since you are a newcomer"

Harry nodded in appreciation "thank you for your generosity; unfortunately, I don't drink alcoholic beverages; but coffee with milk would be fine"

"Same here" Hermione spoke for the first time since this conversation started; and the bartender threw the towel over his shoulder "As 'ya wish; two coffee with milk, comin' up"

"Who's the sissy?" a voice bellowed from inside the crowd, and Hermione turned around aggressively "Who said it?"

"Calm down, 'mione. They are not worth it" Harry said as he patted her on the shoulder. She hesitated for a minute, before dropping down her chair with a grumble "Rude, good-for-nothing plebs"

"You said it yourself; plebs" Harry remarked; and the bartender nodded in agreement as he served them coffee "The only entertainment they have is bar fight; and they like to pick fights with tourists if they had the chance, so be on your toes"

"My good friend, if you knew me better, you would've advised them to be on their toes" Harry said with a confident smile, and the bartender chuckled "If you say saw. My name is Sam, by the way"

"Harry Potter" Harry introduced himself, then pointed at Hermione "And this is my friend Hermione Granger; we are private detective on a case involving some unknown cult"

"What cult?" Sam asked; and Harry explained his muggle story about the death eaters, and then asked "Have you encountered any unusual activities around this place, like black-hooded figures, or people who are not willing to speak with anybody?"

"It's hard not to notice any newcomers in these parts, but I think that I haven't seen anything unusual" Sam answered, then he remembered something "Emily here might have something to say. Hey Emily, come here"

A young woman who seems to be of an Indian ancestry came from the other side of the bar. The introduction went on hastily, then the Indian woman spoke "My grandpa once said that he saw some commotion happening around the ol' farm; it was owned by the Mansons before they sold it to an unknown company and left the town for good"

"I always suspected that this farm is a no-good place; I even demanded its removal, but the governor seemed to be uninterested" Sam remarked, and Harry looked at the two bartenders firmly.

"Emily, can you arrange a meeting; I would like to see your grandfather" he asked, and the Indian woman nodded in acceptance; Hermione sighed in relief and mouthed "Brilliant"

"What does a city boy need in this place?" a harsh voice came from behind Harry and Hermione; and they turned around only to see a drunken man with a badly shaved face looking at them with blood-filled eyes.

"Nothing of your concern" Harry replied coldly, and the drunk barked with laughter "The city boy is trying to pretend that he's a man in front of his bitch"

Hermione looked irritated, and Harry grimaced at the statement, but didn't reply as he picked up his cup of coffee. The drunk looked at him and said wryly "What? Aren't you man enough to drink?"

"Aren't you man enough to quit?" Harry retorted dryly without looking at him; and the man got enraged and, without warning, punched Harry on the face. Hermione was shocked as it was the first time she saw Harry taking a beating without fighting back; but then she felt frightened and disgusted as the drunk sat beside her and she smelled the stench of alcohol coming out of his mouth.

"Bartender, another round of beer" the drunk bellowed; but Sam shock his head in disapproval "No more drinks for you Ben, you are drunk"

"I decide when to stop, GIMME ANOTHER FREAKIN' ROUND!!" Ben said at the top of his voice, then he felt himself shoved of the chair "I beg your pardon, but this is my seat" Harry said as he assumed his seat; then blood shot up the drunk's head.

"You little …" Ben said as he was about to hit Harry again; but, to his and Harry's surprise, Hermione jumped off her chair and landed a solid punch on Ben's face.

"Watch your own filthy mouth, you drunken animal" Hermione yelled at him warningly as she assumed a fighting stance; and Harry observed amusingly as the fight began to brew.

"You challengin' me, bitch" Ben said as he got up and wiped the stream of blood off his face; only to feel a strong boot hitting the same spot.

"Wrong" Hermione said while landing the kick "I'm kicking your arse" Ben flew back and his head landed on a table, and he lost conciousness.

The crowd eyed the fight casually, as it was not uncommon to have a brawl in the bar; and Hermione glanced over the unconscious body of Ben before hearing clapping from behind.

"Splendid 'mione" Harry said as he clapped along with Sam and Emily.

"Yeah, I can say no less" Sam remarked "You showed him who the boss is"

"Why, thank you" Hermione said with a smile as she assumed her place "But I should say that you disappointed me, Harry; you could've done more to teach him, but you didn't do a thing"

"Well, I tend not to start fights; it could be so distracting, and we have a mission at hand" Harry said coolly, before turning to Emily "I'm looking forward to meet your grandfather, Emily; I will be ready when you are"

"Tomorrow is good" the Indian woman replied "I will notify him as soon as possible"

"Brilliant" Harry said as he got up and motioned Hermione to follow him.

"I am not looking forward to see any brawl in the future; the plebs might get in the way of our mission, and I will be as merciful as flint if that happened" Harry said to her in a low cold tone as they made their way toward the door. And Hermione felt frightened at his tone. They were about to exit the pub, but suddenly, Harry's sixth sense shot up. He turned around and saw that Ben has regained his consciousness and was charging at Hermione like a raging bull.

"Hermione!! Watch out!!" Harry said as he pushed her aside and grabbed Ben's arms and pushed him backwards. Ben dropped on the ground, then got up and assumed a fighting stance.

"Well, well … I see that Hermione's kick wasn't enough for you" Harry said slyly

"It takes more than a kick to bring me down; let alone a bitch's kick" Ben said harshly, earning him an angry glare from Harry.

"Watch your mouth, you foul git" Harry said warningly; and Ben laughed coarsely before pulling out a dirty pocket knife and waving it dangerously.

"I will finish you first, sissy boy; and then I will take my time with your bitch" Ben said darkly before charging with his knife. Harry stood his ground calmly, and Hermione shouted at the top of her voice "NO, HARRY!!"

In a split of a second, Harry's hand reached Ben's inches before the knife reached his chest; Ben groaned as he felt Harry's firm grasp around his wrist, then he screamed in pain and dropped the knife as the audience, including Hermione, heard bone cracking as Harry twisted Ben's wrist.

"This is not a proper way to address a lady" Harry said coldly "But you are a slow learner, so let me introduce you to this"

Harry punched him hard on the chest; and the drunken man flew backwards for five meters taking as a few tables with him until he met the wall. He dropped down without a word.

"And that concludes our brawl" Harry said dryly as he eyed the fallen drunk, and the crowd fell silent as they just witnessed an unbelievable fight between the newcomer and the unstoppable Ben. Harry glanced over Sam, who was astounded at what just happened, and addressed him calmly "Sorry of the mess; write down the damage and I will gladly pay for it"

"Whatever you say" Sam said as he snapped out of his astonishment. And then Harry looked over Hermione, who was gaping at the scene "Let's get a move on; we've got a busy day ahead"

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**_A/N:_** So, that's it for the second chapter; the third is coming, but not soon; I'm sorry again for the slow update. But what can I do … Job demand.

Read & Review Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease


	3. A Hard Lesson

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Harry Potter or any of J.K Rowling characters; but I own the plot, sub-plots, and the OCs.

**_A/N:_** Well, what can I say? It's just … Chapter three (And sorry for the slow update, but I don't see many reviews as if everybody lost interest in my saga).

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**A Hard Lesson**

Hermione tossed in her bed as she felt the warm sunshine covering her body; she opened her eyes and saw the sunlight coming through the windows of her room. She moaned as she stretched lazily.

"Well … That was refreshing" she muttered as she remembered the pub incident yesterday, and Harry's unbelievable stunt along with it "It was really brilliant, I've got to convince him into teaching me some of these fancy moves"

She got off her bed and went to the annexed bathroom for a quick shower; and when she finished wearing her clothes, she got out of her room only be greeted by a sight of a certain redhead.

"Oi, Hermione. Long time no see, eh?" Ron greeted her with his usual cheer.

"Ron! It's good to see you, how is your wife doing?" Hermione greeted him with the same cheer, and he smiled widely before answering "Doing well, actually; how are you, 'mione? When Harry told me that you insisted on coming I never believed it. He would never allow his friends to face danger"

"I have my own ways of 'convincing'" she replied slyly "And I think that the 'friend' status is applied to you too"

"I am an auror, 'mione; this is a whole different matter" he replied with a smile.

"Speaking of aurors, when did you arrive? I never heard any commotion outside" Hermione asked him, and he ushered her to follow him "We arrived after midnight, and I met Harry at the lobby where he notified me of your presence, and I should say that you look lovely when you are asleep"

"Hey" Hermione retorted as a blush crept to her cheeks "It is indecent to walk in a lady's bedroom when she is asleep; it is an invasion to her privacy, and you of all people know what a violation of privacy is, being married and all"

Ron held his arms defensively as he replied "I wasn't the one who has been into your bedroom; Lavender would've killed me. I was merely quoting Harry's words"

He winked as he said the last words causing Hermione's blush to deepen "He didn't …"

"In fact, he did …" Ron retorted "He told me that he checked upon you hourly, and he was concerned about you because you seemed to be restless, and you mumbled something in your sleep"

Hermione stood frozen, and her face paled at the last revelation "Did … Did he say what words did I spoke of?"

"He said that he couldn't make any word of it as you were speaking dimly" he answered in confusion at her nervousness, only to be surprised even more at her relief "Am I missing something?"

He asked her cautiously, and she shock her head negatively "Nothing; it is just a nightmare I happen to dream of so often"

He wasn't convinced completely by her explanation "Are you sure? You can tell me anything if you want"

"No, Ron; I'm all right" she replied irritable "Please drop it"

Ron sensed her discomfort, so he didn't pursue the matter any longer. Hermione, on the other hand, was concerned of what Harry has caught from her sleep-talking. She tried to divert the course of the conversation, if just to ease off her mind.

"Where is Harry? I would like to talk to him" she asked Ron, who shrugged carelessly "I don't know. He said that he was going on a stroll, but didn't tell to where"

"Her heart fell to the ground at what he said "What?! He shouldn't be going out alone in this early hour; or at least he should tell us where he is going to. With flint nearby anything can happen; he could be attacked, or …"

She was going to continue, but Ron ushered her to calm down "Hermione, relax; this is Harry we are talking about, not some half-witted freshman. He is Grand Auror Potter; no one has been as resourceful as him, except Flint maybe"

"Even so, I have to go and find him. I need to talk to him anyway" she said as she walked out of the hideout. She climbed down the stairs and went straight to the lobby where the secret keeper was.

"Where is Harry?" she demanded rather harshly, but he didn't even remove his eyes from the newspaper he was reading as he answered her "Good morning to you, too, Detective Granger. Auror Potter went on a recon mission early this morning"

"Where to?" she asked again, but this time he shock his head in disapproval "I'm sorry, but this is top secret information"

"I want to know where he went to; he might be in danger" she bellowed at him, but all what he did is shocking his head stubbornly "Now, now, detective. I am an unspeakable, which means that I am allowed to disclose this information to high-ranking aurors only; and I'm not seeing any badge on you"

Hermione grumbled silently and burst out of the hospice angrily; she walked around the village cursing the unspeakable every now and then.

'_How dare he speak to me like that?'_ see thought to herself _'If he knew what danger Harry is bound to face …'_ the last matter dampened her heart even more than what it is _'Oh, Harry; I want to tell you, but …'_ she shook her head and sighed helplessly before raising her head and taking a deep breath of the morning breeze, then an unusual scene appeared before her; a falcon was flying above her at an unusual low height.

'_This cannot be right'_ she thought to herself _'Falcons are not the natural inhabitants of this region; and they don't fly at that height near places inhibited by humans, like this town for instance'_

She saw the falcon gliding down behind a nearby building, and decided to follow it and know its intent. She quickly reached the building and took her place behind the corner leaning forward, and saw the falcon gliding down until it hit the ground of the backyard. When it settled down, she took a thorough look at the regal bird, and saw that its eyes are glinting with emerald green. The falcon looked sideways as if it was making sure that no one was watching, and the next thing that happened shocked Hermione out of belief.

The falcon's body began to waver, and its wings began to deform. The head was enlarging, and its feathers were turning into raven-colored hair. Hermione gaped at the results when the transformation was complete, as the person standing was no other than Harry Potter.

"That was neat …" said Harry as he straightened his clothes "Field Animagus test is complete"

He was about to walk away from the yard, but he felt a presence around the corner. He swiftly pulled his wand out of its holster, and muttered "_Retracto_". Hermione gasped in horror as she felt herself being pulled out of hiding, and felt a sharp pain in her shoulder as she collided with the ground hard. She felt her fear double as she saw the stern look on Harry's face, then Harry's expressions changed from stern to concern when he realized that it was Hermione.

"Oh, Hermione. I'm sorry; I'm so sorry" Harry paced toward Hermione, but she grabbed her shoulder in a mix of pain and fear and yelled at him "Stop" she crawled back until her back was against the wall, and she said with a quivering voice "Who are you?"

"It's me … Harry" said Harry in a calming tone as he took one more step closer, and extended his hand to her with a calming yet apologizing smile "Really"

Hermione looked straight at his eyes, and she looked upon the most comforting eyes that she recognized quickly. She smiled back at him and accepted his hand graciously.

"Thank you" she said as he pulled her up "I was just shocked when I saw you transform. I thought that it was another imposter"

"I see …" said Harry calmly "And I do apologize if I shocked you; but now you already know, I have to disclose my secret to you" he looked silently at her for one minute before speaking again "I am an animagus"

"A what?!" Hermione retorted in confusion, and Harry explained "An animagus is a wizard who can transform himself to an animal form, gaining the traits of that animal, and its vices, too" he smiled back at her then resumed "Not all wizards can be animagi, only the accomplished ones can be, in sensei's opinion at least"

"So, you can transform to a falcon" Hermione said in astonishment "Brilliant; what other animal can you transform to?"

"Unfortunately, animagus can transform to one animal only. Animagus means 'Soul of a Wizard', and as the name implies a wizard can only transform to the animal shape that matches his soul"

"That's truly unfortunate" Hermione said with a pout "So, if you can turn to a falcon, what can Ron turn to?'

Harry cleared his throat before answering "Actually, Ron is not an animagus, and he does not know about my animagus status. I also desire to keep it disclosed for some time, and that's why I didn't register my animagus form in the ministry like all animagi" then he looked straight at Hermione's eyes "Beside my sensei, you are the only one who knows about this matter, Hermione, and I trust that you will not disclose it. If I didn't trust you, I would've erased this event from your memory, but the fact that I'm asking you to hide it is enough to show my trust in you, as a friend"

Harry's words were so touching, and Hermione felt her heart glow at them "Your secret is well-kept, Harry; trust me on that"

"Thank you" he said in gratitude, and then he clapped his hand in excitement "Now, shall we take a stroll in this boring hamlet?"

-------------------------------------------

The stroll didn't take more than one hour, and Harry and Hermione went to their last stop, Sam's pub. They entered the pub and saw the aforementioned owner of the pub cleaning some glasses and mugs with his back turned at them.

"We're still closed, return after an hour" Sam barked while still turning his back, and when he turned around and saw the comers, a wide grin appeared on his face as he greeted them "If it ain't Ben stopper; come in, have a seat"

"Good morning, Sam; we were on our way to the motel, and we thought about stopping by and saying hello" Harry greeted back as he assumed a seat "I suppose you already wrote the damage report

"Don't concern yourself with that, son; it would be a dull night if this there was at least one bar fight" Sam said dismissively before leaning towards him "But to tell you the truth, your beating the hell outta Unstoppable Ben was the talk of the night. Hell, I bet it has be the talk of town by now"

"I just hope it won't bring me any more trouble" replied Harry with apparent discomfort "Say, hasn't Emily come yet; I would like to ask her about me meeting with her grandfather"

"She will enter in any minute now" said Sam, and as soon as he finished his sentence, the door opened and the aforementioned woman came in.

"Morning, everyone" Emily greeted them.

"Morning, Emily. Harry is here for the appointment with your grandpa" Sam said to her, and she looked at Harry brightly "Well, of course; I already arranged it. Jus' gimme a minute to put down my belongings n' draw you a sketch of our address"

"Why don't ya' take him to your grandpa yourself" said Sam "I will manage by my self for some time"

"Whatever you say boss" Emily retorted before putting down her bag and ushering Harry to follow her, and Hermione automatically followed them.

They walked for ten minutes until they reached what appeared to be an old yet sturdy shack. Emily knocked the door before entering "Grandpa, I'm home"

"Emily, why have your returned all of a sudden. Something wrong?" an old man with facial features of a Native American called as he walked into the entrance hall; and Emily replied as she pointed at Harry "This is the man I told you about, grandpa. The one who's askin' 'bout the Mansons' farm"

"I see" the old man retorted "I will take it from here, Emily. You can return to your work now"

"OK, seeya all later" she waved them goodbye, and the old man followed her with his eyes before turning back at his guests with a warm smile "I am John Hawk, people around here call me Hawkeye. Please, have a seat"

"Thank you, sir" Harry replied as he assumed a seat along with Hermione "My name is Harry Potter; and this is my partner Hermione Granger. Your daughter said that you saw some unusual activities"

John's eyes narrowed as he recalled the near incident "Actually, I did. There is a nearby farm that was owned by the Mansons in the early fifties. But some oil company bought it from them because they said that they found an oil deposit under the farm" then he eyed Harry with a meaningful look "But I didn't see a single derrick erected since they bought the farm, literally I mean"

Harry knew the true reason of that, but he didn't expose it. But all what he did was asking a dull question "And why do you think it is strange?"

"Please, the land was bought for oil, and not an attempt to dig it out has been done. It can't be any stranger?" John retorted sarcastically "besides, I saw someone standing by the entrance. Luck for me that I'm a hawk eye?"

"Someone?! Who was it? And how did you spot him while the barbed wires erected?" Harry asked in interest, And Hermione joined him. John pointed at his eyes and answered "Us Natives have our own special abilities; some of us are fast-runners, while the others are superb sharpshooters. However, it is not common to have a Hawkeye in the tribe; they make excellent scouts by their extra-sharp sight" he held his head proudly and resumed "And I'm a Hawkeye; the last of my tribe, unfortunately"

"Splendid, then you've spotted that person from a distance, haven't you?" said Hermione in astonishment, and the old Native nodded "From a mile to be precise; and without a scope. It was a soldier of the army, which made me curious; what the hell is he doin' around that run-down farm?"

"Oh, a soldier" Harry retorted in disappointment "But you didn't see any other person around, like black-hooded ones, perhaps?"

"Not until two days ago" john replied "I was doing my routine check on the soldier from my lookout while it was nighttime, and I saw his head being cleaved off by nothing, then the second after, I saw a black-robed, black-hooded person appearing out of thin air. He went straight to the inside of the ramshackle barn there, as if he knew what he is doing"

Harry caught every word said by the old Native, and Hermione was pulled back into the conversation, too "Was there any other black-hooded figure that night?" she asked, and he shook his head negatively "Nah, but I saw another soldier coming from the inside of the barn, and then when he saw the fallen body of his comrade, he went back immediately. Next thing I saw, was military truck going inside the barn last night"

"Thank you, sir; you've really helped us with such crucial information" Harry got up and shook the hand of the Native.

"Nah, thanks to you for not treating me like a lunatic" john retorted warmly "If you need anything, jus' drop by"

"I will keep that on mind, thanks again" Harry said as he walked out of the shack, Hermione followed him with a frown on her face "I don't believe it; we've wasted precious time to hear information we already knew"

"On the contrary, my dear partner; it is good to hear even the known information from another point of view" replied Harry calmly "And it was not a waste of time, at least we knew that there was no other attack on the area"

"Speaking of attacks" she retorted "Do you think that Flint will try to steal the second body, or one is all what he wants"

"I don't know" Harry said while thinking heavily "Flint's moves are something I cannot wager on, he can be as devious as a fox; attacking swiftly and precisely. I just hope that I don't have to use unnecessary violence in our upcoming encounter"

"How modest of you, talking like that while being so powerful" Hermione said in a mix of sarcasm and admiration "Which reminds me … Harry, I have a request; and please don't say 'no'"

"If I can do it, then yes" he retorted with confusion, and she smiled in plea "Would you please train me in martial arts?"

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"The training room is ready" Vlad said as he walked out of the said room with Sofia, who was staring at Hermione with envious stares, she can't believe that she could convince Harry to teach her his style of martial arts; no auror could do that; and now this muggle who has no apparent talent in hand-to-hand combat will be his apprentice. She doesn't think lowly of Hermione's muggle status, but she couldn't help but to feel envy; she dreamed of this honor, but that girl beat her to it.

"Thank you Vlad, Sofia. Now, I don't want any disturbance for at least three hours; except if Flint attacked, of course. And Vlad" Harry addressed his commando-auror "Establish constant surveillance on area-51 with you in charge; be creative"

"Yes, sir" Vlad saluted his superior before moving away, and then Harry smiled at Hermione "Now, let the training begin"

"I still don't know why the hurry" she asked as she began to warm-up.

"Early bird gets the worm" said Harry as he performed his type of warm-up "Besides, I want you to be at least half ready when something unfortunate happens"

They took half an hour in warming up, then Harry erected a training dummy, and tested Hermione's experience in martial arts, which was mediocre, of course. He then demonstrated some basic punches and kicks without using his hyper-reflexes, and motioned her to mimic him.

"I can't do it" Hermione said in defeat "I think I'm a horrible student"

"No, no, no" Harry assured her "You are a fast learner, Hermione. But all what you need is a little confidence"

"All what I need is little magic" she grumbled, and Harry chuckled at her "You know, I said the same thing at the beginning of my training, and sensei awarded me with five hundred push-ups that I should do before going to sleep"

"Ouch, that's an unfair punishment" she retorted with a giggle, and he joined her "It was, but it turned me the person who I am"

'_And what a wonderful person you are, Harry'_ she thought to herself, and then tried to fight the blush that crept to her cheeks; luckily for her, Harry didn't notice her blush as he was erecting another training dummy "Now, I want you to observe. For your information, I didn't beat that lowlife Ben with my magic; I simply transformed my inner potential energy into kinesis … Look closely"

He took a fighting stance in front of the large dummy, and Hermione observed with eagerness waiting for his next move. The next thing happened left her dumbfounded completely; Harry punched the dummy hard, making it detach from its fixed base and it flew for five meters before shattering on the wall.

"Tha-That's impossible" she said in disbelief, and he retorted with a smile "Keep saying that to your self and it will be. I didn't use magic in this time, too; which means that you can do it" he un-summoned the broken dummy and erected a new one with a cushioned panel on its side "I want you to kick this panel hard making it turn a full circle around, but watch out for its counter. If you don't kick it sufficiently, it will hit you back"

"I'll try" she said in a non-convincing way, and he shook his head "Self-confidence, Hermione. Don't try … Do"

The training went on for another half an hour, with not a single successful attempt by Hermione. Harry watched patiently thinking of a way to ignite the confidence in Hermione's heart, and it hit him "If this dummy was Flint, you would've been dead for a long time, and he would've went to kill your loved ones. Would you let him go away with it? Would you let your friends get killed because you have no confidence in your abilities? That is the losers way of thinking, are you a loser, Hermione?"

"No!!" she replied in rage and kicked the panel hard that it made it spin really fast "I've don it. Harry, I've done it" she yelled in victory before hearing Harry's voice "Hermione! Watch out!"

She felt a hard slap on her head that made her fall forward, but she didn't hit the hard ground; instead, she felt a soft ground under her head and strong arms circling her. She looked up and saw that Harry threw himself so that she falls on him instead of hitting the hard ground of the training room.

"And Flint has slapped you on the head because you are a naughty girl" he said funnily, and they both laughed at his remark. She has to admit that it is so comfortable to be near him; and with his arms around her, she feels so secure. Harry also feels that this is how it should be, he and she, together. But the thing that he is afraid of is that she doesn't feel the same way about him, not to mention his dangerous life.

'_let me just enjoy this moment as it linger'_ both of them thought at the same time without knowing of their mutual thought _'But I feel something strange, like … Oh, bloody …'_

Both of them realized that Harry's hand rested on her chest. They stood up with their faces burning with a beat-red color.

"Errr, s-sorry" Harry said with a stutter, and Hermione, who was not in a better shape, replied "N-no problem"

"I think that our training session has ended today" he remarked gaining back some of his composure "But there is still one session left"

"Which is?" asked Hermione as she tried to guess, but he left her no time for that "Occlumansy, of course. Your mind blocking training"

"Can't we wait until we rest a bit?" she whined in objection, but he shook his head negatively "There is no better time than present. Besides, it will also help you rejuvenate your strength if you accomplished it even partially"

"Whatever you say" she mumbled in resentment, and Harry ushered her to sit in front of him and he told her to put her hands into his "Occlumansy is a complicated technique, and only a few wizards have accomplished it. It is not magic by itself, but magic can aid in magnifying the power of the mind barrier. The first think we will try is to block the slow probe from advancing to the inside of your mind, ready?"

"Ready" she said a bit nervously, and he assured her "You will not lose your mind or anything of that sort; it is just that the mind reader will try to break you by viewing unpleasant memories; and these memories are felt much stronger than what its original feeling was"

"O-Okay" she replied not feeling any more calm, and he nodded his head "Then let's start"

The first thing she felt was as if a stream of water entered her head through her eye sockets, then the whole room disappeared from around her and instead, she found herself in a long corridor with doors on both sides, and Harry was standing in front of her.

'_Harry?!'_ she said to him, but instead of words, thoughts were said, and she heard Harry speak back in thoughts _'Don't be afraid, push me out'_ she backed up a little, but a bit of confident found its way into her heart and began to build up slowly; she finally said to herself _'Here goes nothing …'_ and she shoved him backwards strongly; and then she found herself back at the training room.

"Excellent" Harry praised her at her achievement "Next, I will try to push forward" the training session resumed, and Hermione showed a promising progress; until the moment of truth was at hand.

"Now, I will try to trip some memories. I know it will be unpleasant, but it is necessary to incite you to prevent any future probing because your personal memories are at risk"

"Alright" she said nervously, praying to God that he would not trip any memory regarding him.

"Now" he began probing again, and opened the door to the first memory. It was an old memory of her, when she was at high school. There were a few students who mocked her from behind just because she was smarted than them.

'_Oh, look. The bookworm has arrived'_ a student said with a jeering tone, and the whole class laughed at her. The student threw a book at her face while calling loudly _'Need another book to eat, luv?'_

Harry walked out of the memory room fast _'I should be careful not to trip any more of these truly unpleasant memories'_ then he saw a door with a sigh on it that says 'Dreams'

'_But after I see the dream that troubled her'_ he said as he entered the room; he saw only a few memories of dreams, but saw that one dark dream was covered with a thick net, as if her mind didn't want it to be loose.

'_What is this?'_ he gazed upon the webbed dream _'I haven't seen anything like this before'_

He pushed himself inside the entangled dream, and finally realized that it was not a wise decision. He saw some kind of dark mist chasing after Hermione, then he saw a little girl appear out of nowhere before being engulfed by this dark mist; he then saw himself lying dead on the ground; and finally saw the darkness engulf Hermione herself. After all is finished, he felt himself being pushed out of the place, and cursed himself silently for tripping such ominous dream when he saw Hermione's filled with fear and reprimand.

"Don't … You … Ever … Do that … Again" Hermione said slowly before letting her tears flow freely; and Harry automatically encircled her shoulders in a protective manner, then she threw herself on his chest crying loudly, and that's when he felt totally helpless.

"T-This horrible nightmare kept recurring a-again and again, and I don't know w-why" she said between sobs "Harry, I-I'm afraid; I'm afraid of losing you. You are the only true friend I've ever had; I can't bear watching you die"

Harry brushed her hair silently as he looked for the right words to say; he never thought that anyone close to him would actually care about his well-being, let alone someone who never knew him for only few months "Hermione, I …" he whispered "Why haven't you told me?"

"I-I tried, but I was afraid that y-you might think of me as a bad omen" she said between sobs "I cannot lose another friend"

"Hermione …" he said as he hugged her more tightly "True friends do not break their friendship over dreams" then he smiled before resuming "But I didn't imagine that you care about my well-being that much; this is something I will cherish forever"

Hermione sobbed but didn't comment, and he pulled her up gently "Now, I want you to rest after this successful session of training. Honestly, I wasn't holding much hope in you for achieving this level of resistance, but you sure surprised me' and he looked at her proudly and resumed "You earned your rest"

He helped her to her room under the questioning gaze of the auror team; and after he put her down on her bed, Ron came to him and asked him the question that was on the minds of everybody.

"Something wrong, mate?" Ron asked in true concern, and a concerned gaze appeared in Harry's eyes for a second before disappearing under a mask of joy "No, nothing. She felt tired after the aggressive training, Thank you for your concern anyway"

Ron felt that there was something more behind that troubled look, but he didn't pursue it any further. And Harry said in an attempt to mislay the matter "Have you set the surveillance equipments"

"Yes" said Ron in a play along "Dick has prepared some invisible cameras and Vlad went out to place them properly. Rest assured, Harry; Flint can't do a thing with us in charge of protecting the imp body"

"I don't know, mate" replied Harry with apparent concern "The fact that he didn't do a thing until now is what scares me …"

---------------------------------------

"Where is he? What is the progress of the inquisition?" Flint yelled as he slapped the table with his silvery hand, and his minions cowered before one of them answers "He is almost finished, my lord. He says that he needs a few minutes only"

"I've given him more than enough" Flint bellowed "I will go and check upon him my self"

"Need not to trouble your self, Dark Lord. I am here" a tall, dark figure appeared out of the shadowy corridor; gazed upon him angrily before speaking slowly "So, what is the progress … Necromancer?"

"Not quite well" The tall figure said as he stepped out of the shadows, and his face appeared slowly. Tall face, tan complexion, thin lips, his limbs are totally covered in long-sleeved robes and his eyes are constantly with lid down.

"What is not quite well, necromancer? You said that one body is sufficient" Flint bellowed again at the evil necromancer.

"I am not one of your minions to yell at me like that" said the necromancer calmly but with stern face "I am Rasputin, the greatest necromancer of the century"

"Well … Rasputin" said Flint almost spitting out the name "What is not going well with the inquisition?"

Rasputin thought deeply as if arranging his words before answering "It appears that the imp shamans were quite careful, they split the incantations of the portals into parts just in case one of them is captured and interrogated"

"But … That means even if we brought the other body, it is still incomplete" Flint said in frustration, but Rasputin assured him "Not at all, after I finished the interrogation of the imp shaman, it was clear to me that he was having one half, so the other is with the other shaman"

"And how can you be sure?" asked the young dark lord stubbornly, and the necromancer smiled confidently "Believe me, I know"

Flint gazed upon the evil figure before him for a minute, then ordered the death eaters "I want someone to scout the way for us. We will plan our mass attack on the area carefully"

"Aye, my lord" one of the death eaters bowed to him and walked out of the room; then Flint looked back at the necromancer "You will accompany us this time, necromancer, and we will cover you as you do your interrogation" he said sternly "And if this thing was done correctly, we can think of a long term alliance" then he extended his silvery hand

"Fair enough" the necromancer replied calmly and he accepted Flint's hand declaring the beginning of an unholy alliance.

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**_A/N:_** That was some uneasy chapter to do. I know that its size don't take that long, but I was awfully busy for the last month; hopefully, I don't think the other chapters will take that long.

Read & Review Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease


	4. Laying The Plan

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling characters, lucky her.

**_A/N:_** I know that most of you want to hit me for the absurd chapter I wrote previously, but you have to understand how busy I was. Anyway, this chapter is my gift to you.

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**Laying The Plan**

It was a quiet night in Los Cuatros, but not in IAST headquarters where Dick was checking on area 51 by the means of the newly-added surveillance network. He was so immersed in work that he jumped when Ron entered rather forcefully.

"Where is Harry?" Ron asked in discomfort, and Dick answered after he regained his composure after his startle "God!! Wes, what's the hurry? Anyway, the Grand Auror said that he want to go on a walk"

"A WALK!! For three bloody hours!! He got to be mental" Ron exclaimed in anger, and Dick tried to calm him down "Maybe it's about something happened to Detective Granger in the training room"

"I wager on it …" Ron retorted before hearing the door open, they both turned and saw that it was Harry who entered.

"Evening, gentlemen" Harry greeted them coolly, and Ron couldn't take it any more.

"Where do you think you're going?" he exploded in anger at his cool friend, who answered back with more coolness "My office, of course. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, no, no! Nothing is wrong … at all" the redhead retorted sarcastically before exploding again "EVERYTHING IS BLOODY WRONG!! We are on a bloody mission, and you go on a bloody walk throwing everything aside!"

Harry looked at his best friend and second in command with a firm glares "Don't 'bloody' me, Ron; and don't forget the rank difference"

Ron looked at him defiance "So, you are pulling ranks on me now. Eh, mate?"

"Yes, I am" Harry replied with the same resolve "And if you have any problem with it, I'll book you a hearing with the disciplinary committee" then he intensified his glare before resuming "Am I clear … Mate?"

Ron looked like he wanted to argue more, but the last statement and the way Harry said it made him think twice before muttering slowly "You are clear … Sir"

"Good … Now, I will go and check on Hermione. Prepare for the team for a meeting, Senior Auror" Harry said firmly before leaving the room, and Ron glares shot daggers at his back while he grumbled lowly. Dick, however, approached him and said trying to appease him "Just relax there, Wes; I will inform the team instead"

"Thank you, Dick" Ron said "At least someone here cares about the team … Like me"

"I think you're a bit overreacting" the Intel specialist said cautiously, and Ron turn to him with ire, but he retorted quickly "I know for sure that the Grand Auror cares for the success of the mission; but maybe what happened to Detective Granger, whatever it was, concerned him deeply"

Ron cooled down a bit as he recalled the shape of Hermione when Harry escorted her to her room, and he sighed deeply "I know that, Dick; but all what I want is to help Harry, but he doesn't want me to" he looked at the door Harry walked out through and resumed "I am his best mate, after all"

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Harry stepped into Hermione's room quietly, and saw that she still asleep. He pulled a chair and sat beside her, and brushed her forehead tenderly.

"My dear Hermione, I wish I can alleviate some of your grief, but all what I can do is protect you" he whispered slowly at the sleeping Hermione "And by God, I will"

He kept brushing her forehead for a minute, and wished that he could stop the sands of time and let them be like this; together and forever. Then a thought of losing Hermione to her imagined darkness came to him, and his heart choked 'My God' he thought to himself 'Do I … love her?'

He never knew real love; all what he experienced is the pain of separation. Ginny, Cho, Luna, and Parvati; all are the same, but he didn't feel this choke with any of them; this is a brand feeling. It is the fact that he cares for her … Maybe more.

"Oh God" he said breathlessly "My dear Hermione, I'm so sorry because I can't do this; not to you" he kissed her forehead and went to the door.

"Please, don't go" he heard the sweet voice from behind, and he turned only to be welcomed by the pleasant view of the now-awake Hermione, his Hermione.

"Please, Harry" she said weakly, and he couldn't dare breaking her heart. He reassumed his seat and brushed her forehead as he just did.

"I see that you are awake" he said calmly, and his heart skipped a beat as she smiled at him "You know what I dreamed of this time, Harry?"

"What?" he asked with a smile, and she smiled back "I saw my self standing in an endless darkness, and I was trying to escape, to find an exit through that darkness; then suddenly, when all hope was lost, I saw the light coming from the horizon, shattering the darkness and carrying hope with it. Do you know who I saw standing in the source of the light?"

"Who?" he asked as he began to get interested in the dream, and she answered "It was you, Harry. You were the source of light; you were the one who guided me toward safety"

He looked at her with concern for a minute, then he masked this concern under a fake smile as he answered "It was no more than a dream, Hermione"

"No, it was not!" she protested weakly as she sat up "You don't understand; it is not the first time I dream about something and it comes true, and this time is no different than the others. This dream states that you are not a normal person, Harry; but a hero"

Harry's worry doubled as he heard his prophecy retold, not by a wizard this time, but by a normal muggle. He spoke softly to her as he helped her lie back at the bed "We can discuss this matter later. Now, I want you to rest; you will be of no good for us fatigued, especially during the next session"

"You mean …" she asked in disbelief, and he nodded positively "Yes, what good of being partners if we don't attend the meeting together?"

"Oh, thank you, Harry; you don't know how happy I feel" she said in sheer happiness, and he smiled back at her "Thank me later; now, you rest"

As soon as he walked out of the room, the mask of joy fell down, and his true face appeared; full of worry and concern. He saw Ron coming, and addressed him calmly as he forgot their recent quarrel "Is the team ready, Ron?"

"They are already in the meeting room … Harry" Ron replied back cautiously as he probed Harry's mood slowly.

"Good" the young auror retorted "Let's get a move on, shall we?" They went to the meeting room quickly; and as soon as they entered, the attending aurors assumed their stances.

"At ease, everyone" Harry relieved them from the posture and assumed his seat "As you all know, we are on a mission that involves Flint, as always" he said coolly "And this time, as always, he made the first move"

The aurors looked at each other nervously before Vanessa asked "And what move was it, sir?"

"He stole an ancient body, a body of an imp" he answered calmly, a murmur erupted amid the attendants.

"But, sir" William inquired "Aren't imps extinct?"

"They are, for sure" Harry replied "But clearly the ministry has acquired these bodies somehow" then he looked at his team firmly "But this matter not, as our main concern is to stop Flint's plan, whatever it is"

The murmur erupted again, then Vlad came forth with the waited question "What is your theory of Flint's plan for the imps, sir?"

"Good question" he nodded "My theory actually is a bit impracticable, but it's a theory after all" he shifted on his seat then began to explain "The imps used to erect time/space portals, and use them to travel across dimensions; and since Flint wanted to open a portal, for an unknown reason, last time, I think he will utilize the ability to open his wanted portal"

The room filled with tension at his last words, and the aurors looked at each other nervously; then Dick stood up and spoke firmly "Rest assured, sir; the last body has been placed on constant surveillance. No fly can cross the area without being detected"

Harry smiled at him weakly and shook his head negatively "I'm afraid not; your fly has already passed your strict surveillance"

"What?!" Ron exclaimed "B-But how and when?" they all looked at Harry in disbelief, and he spoke clearly "There was a single death eater, a single one that was present in the area. He could've stole the other body if he had enough time"

"But the surveillance reports showed nothing" Vlad retorted "and Dick didn't budge from his seat until now"

"I know" Harry replied "But as creative as you can be, you would've not detect his method of infiltration, which was more creative" he stopped for a minute before resuming "He flew through the ventilation shafts using a simple broom"

The room went in silence as he threw the statement, then Ron asked a smart question "Wait, Harry!" he said "If that death eater succeeded in his subterfuge, then how did you know?"

"Simply, I followed him" he said calmly, and Dick's eyes widened "Unfortunately, I had to let him go; or else Flint will know of our presence too soon" he shifted again and eyed his team firmly "I want from all of you to think of a plan to thwart Flint's next attempt. Think carefully and as quick as possible, I feel that the ending of this mission is near; as soon as Flint knows of our presence, he will attack with a mass force. Our next meeting will be tomorrow morning … Dismiss"

The aurors walked out of the room, and Ron was about to follow them, but he saw that Harry didn't leave his seat as he eyed the empty table with glass eyes.

"Harry …" the redhead addressed his best mate, who got alerted to his presence "If there is something troubling you, please, don't hesitate to disclose to me"

The young auror sighed deeply, and looked at his friend silently for a minute before speaking "I don't know, mate; it's just …" he sighed again "Hermione foresaw my prophecy"

"What?!" Ron exclaimed "Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely" he answered "It's not like she actually went into a trance; she saw the whole thing while she was asleep"

Ron chuckled in relief albeit nervously at his friend "Mate, you scared me. She just saw a nightmare, that's all"

"I know the difference between a dream and a vision, Ron" Harry replied firmly "Especially when I see it myself"

The redhead gaped at the last statement "Mate, you didn't …"

"I did …" he replied "It was during the training session of Occlumancy; it tripped this very bad memory accidentally, and saw it all. She was trying to hide it from me all the time because she feared that I might mark her as a bad omen" he sighed again "She never thought about how much pain she caused me by keeping this knowledge away from me; I never wanted her to experience such pain and grief, and it pained me a lot when I found out about the vision she saw. It was then when I …" he looked back at his best mate "When I realized that I care about her"

Ron stood silent for a minute before speaking "Harry, you don't know how happy I am to hear that; since the day you saved her I knew that the spark will ignite between you two. But I want you to keep in mind that we are on a mission that has entered a critical state now; this is not the good time or the place for such things"

"No time can be …" Harry retorted "I am not suitable for her, Ron. I was marked for death since my birth, and I am marked for death for the rest of my bloody life" he turned his face away "No woman would stand living with a person like me"

"Well, this is up to her to decide whether she wants it or not" the redhead said, and then he yawned loudly "Right now, all what I want is my bed" Harry chuckled weakly, and they both went to their dorms.

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"Are you sure about that?" Flint asked the death eater he sent for reconnaissance, who bowed lightly "Aye, my Lord. Not a single auror is present in the area; I could've stolen the body if you ordered me to"

"No, Swift. I fear that it is not as you have described; Potter is not thick to leave the body unattended, he is concocting something"

"If you fear Potter that much, why don't you do something about it?" Rasputin, who was sitting at a nearby chair, asked sarcastically earning him a glare from Flint that he never saw with his state of blindness "If you have an idea, then spill the beans"

"I have only one idea; it is a straightforward one, actually" the necromancer said "Field inquisition"

"What?!" Flint looked at him in confusion, and he explained "I can perform a thorough inquisition on the imp's body while it is at its place; but this needs a lot of protection. In other words, I need your men to cover my back while I do it.

Rasputin finished explaining, and Flint thought about it deeply before nodding "Okay, I will arrange for a mass attack tomorrow night, and you better be true to your word"

The necromancer smiled and replied "Haven't I? … Ever?"

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The beautiful morning has come, and the sleepy town yawned and began to open its eyes; little did it know that there was a man who didn't sleep the whole night. Harry couldn't sleep for more than an hour, and it was due to exhaustion; but after that, every time he tried to sleep, the image of the broken-down Hermione comes to him. Finally, he gave up and went to the bathroom. After a quick dip, he got out of his flat and went cautiously to the well-hidden headquarters. He got to the intelligence room, and saw the half-sleepy Dick sitting by the monitors, and he didn't notice him stepping in.

"You can rest for now, Dick" he said calmly, and the Intel specialist startled "Oh, it's you, sir" he got up and stood firmly "No need to worry about me, sir. I'm fine"

"It's an order, Auror" Harry retorted firmly "I need you and the rest of the team full awake this night"

"What for, sir?" the young auror inquired in confusion, and all what he got is a vague smile from Harry "All in its good time, Dick. Now go"

Dick left the room leaving Harry to take care of the surveillance. Harry pulled a chair and sat in front of the monitors, and he saw that everything is in order. He observed the monitors for a minute, before drifting into his stream of thoughts.

'What are you concocting, Flint?' he thought to himself 'Tell me so I can stop you. And how are you planning to use the imps in opening the portal you want?' then his thoughts shifted 'Hermione … I have to send her away before the unfortunate happens; but on a second thought, I can't make sure she is alright unless she is within my sight'

"Oh, God; now I have two problems to solve …" he buried his face in his hands.

"And what might they be?" he heard a voice from behind, and swiftly pulled out his sword while turning towards it; but he saw that it was Hermione.

"On day, you will slice me in half with this sword of yours" she retorted with a smile; but her smile faded when she saw the concern on his face as he mumbled his apology "Something wrong, Harry?"

"No, not at all" he shook his head "It's just I can't think of a way to protect the body of the imp properly"

"That would be problem one" she stated "What about the second?"

Harry felt awkward about the situation. He couldn't lie to her; she is too smart to take the bait, and he can't simply reveal his recently discovered infatuation of her 'Here goes nothing'

"The other problem is …" he said as he tried to maintain a normal face "I can't let Flint escape this time, he is to dangerous to be on the loose"

"Is that all? I thought it is something more problematic" she said as she took the bait "You know, Harry; sometimes you can't win them both" then something came to her "On a second thought, you can …"

"How?!" he inquired confusingly, and she explained "Remember when I confiscated your sword? You replaced it with a fake one …"

"… And I can do the same to the imp's body" he completed as the idea became clear to him "Brilliant, Hermione! But this is for problem one only; how can I detain Flint?"

"By an ambush, of course" she said in a low tone not believing his slow thinking "Honestly, Harry; I know that you are a quick thinker. What happened to you?"

'It is you that happened to me' he thought to himself, not daring to voice his thoughts; instead, he said "I'm just a bit tired, that's all"

"Well, if you want to defeat Flint, you have to be more clear-minded" she retorted "I never thought that you can be that foggy"

"I am not!" he replied as the steam rushed up to his head "And I will show you who is the foggy after I finish refining your plan"

"That's what I wanted" she said in a victory tone "Show me your best, Harry"

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After a few hours, Harry called for a final meeting for the IAST, and Hermione was included per Harry's orders. After the whole team was assembled, the meeting began.

"Good afternoon, everyone" Harry greeted "I called for this meeting so we can put our final touches in this mission. Detective Granger here gave me a good idea of how to stop Flint without losing the imp's body"

"But, sir; are you sure that Flint will attack soon? He didn't give any sign of it" Vanessa inquired.

"When you've been to war too long, you will not wait for a sign from the enemy to attack" he answered "You will learn to depend on your feelings to gain the advantage"

"So, Harry; what's your plan, then?" Ron asked in eagerness, and Harry smiled at him "Don't get so excited, mate; after all, we won't find much of a challenge to satisfy your thirst. First, I want the best transfigurers of you to transfigure an object to resemble a body pf an imp, and replace the original one with it. Then bring the original body here"

"I can do it" Sofia declared firmly.

"Me, too" Vanessa said "And me, too" Lee also claimed, and Harry looked at the three of them firmly "Okay, I will assign this to you. But you have to know that your assignment is quite delicate; the success of our mission depends upon your success. Your failure means the failure of the whole operation"

The three volunteered aurors felt nervous at the heavy responsibility put on them, but Sofia stepped forward and spoke "You can count on us, sir. We are up to the task"

"You definitely are …" he said back, then turned to the rest of the attendance "Secondly, I want the other team of three, Vlad, Dick, and William to sneak into the secret base without the muggle knowing, and plant a surprise for our anticipated guests"

"As you Wish, Sir" Vlad replied "But what's the surprise you are planning for them, sir?"

"They seem so keen on getting the imp's body …" he answered "So keen, that they got the layout of the area somehow, as the path of their latest scout proves it. What I want, gentlemen, is to turn their planned infiltration into a disaster … For them of course" he smiled "Vlad, I want you to go to the ministry Lab, and fetch me any ready-made potions they have in stock"

"What type of potions, sir?" the Russian auror inquired in confusion, and Harry answered "All what they got, especially the most volatile and dangerous ones. Now, go"

"On my way, sir" Vlad saluted him, and went to his errand along with the other two. And Harry looked back at Sofia "And you, Sofia; you must finish your task before they begin theirs. And then we will all get ready for the final round"

"Yes, sir" she saluted him along with Vanessa and Lee, and they all walked out of the room leaving Harry, Hermione, and Ron alone.

"Okay … Now, I beg your pardon, Hermione. I want to revise our defenses with Ron" Harry said casually, but she refused to go "You didn't assign me any task, Harry. I want to participated in this mission"

"Sorry, Hermione; this mission is for aurors only" he shook his head "It will be perilous to be there when the fight starts"

"That's rubbish!" she shouted at him "You know that I'm not a civilian, I face more dangers than you could've imagined"

He looked at her firmly, and she looked back with the same resolve, and Ron felt the tension building between them "I think that you should calm down, mates; no need to get angry over …"

"You tell your friend here not to dictate my life …" she shouted at the panicked redhead "I hate being goaded like cattle"

"Silence!!" Harry yelled as he smacked the desk hard "You will not partake in the plan, and that's final" then he turned and addressed Ron formally "Auror Weasley, escort Miss Granger to her room at once"

"Aye sir" Ron complied without argue as he knew that Harry uses formal addressing only when he is too infuriated. He pulled the protesting Hermione by the arm until they reached her room.

"Ouch!" she groaned with apparent fury "Let me go! It was between me and Harry, why have you interfered?!"

"Because …" he said calmly as he released her arm "He is very angry at your protest; and I know that Harry is not arguable when he is enraged" she mumbled under her breath, and he smiled and leaned forward "Besides, he did that because this mission is to dangerous for non-magic wielding people; and he cares for you"

"What do you mean he cares for me, I care about my self well, and …" she argued back before looking at Ron's eye, only then the real answer hit her and she blushed deeply "Ron, you are completely mistaken; Harry is just a dear friend for me, and he only got overprotective"

"Oh, I see …" the redhead retorted back cheekily "Then this blush is because of the heat, nothing else" she blushed even more at his remark, and he chuckled "Listen, Hermione; I've known Harry for too long, and I know when he is treating somebody friendly or even more" he kept silent for a second waiting for her to regain her composure "I know that It's out of place, but I know that you feel the same. It is up to you or him to make the first move" he then looked at his watch and excused himself "I have to go, or else Harry might eat me alive"

He waved her goodbye and walked out of the room, and she stood her place for a minute trying to understand his words _"It is up to you or him to make the first move"_ the words kept twirling in her head for a some time.

'_I can't … I took a vow on myself not to try it'_

'_It's only on chance, girl. Take it, or leave it'_

'_I'll definitely leave it; I'm not strong enough to endure the rejection'_

'_Your loss, girl'_

She shook her head violently as if wanting to shake off that annoying conscience of hers, and ended dropping on her bed hard as she lost balance. She then turn on her bed with a mischievous smile _'I won't leave it entirely, of course, I will not move the move, but guide him to make it; and if my plan came off nicely, we will all be happy'_ she bounced on the bed as the idea appealed to her "Yes, we will"

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For the next three hours, Harry and Ron discussed the ambush plan, and then applied the conclusion on the area layout. It was then when they heard Sofia's team entering.

"Sir" Sofia addressed Harry as she entered his office "Task fulfilled, sir. We've replaced the imp's body with a faux one, and brought the real body and put in the containment room, per your orders"

"Splendid" Harry said with a relieve smile "Now that the body is secured, and Vlad's team almost finished, all what we need to do is to put the final touches"

"I beg your pardon, sir; but what is the ambush you planned for them" Sofia asked in eagerness, but was turned down by Harry's answer "All in time, Sofia; all in time. Now, let's go and see our main objective"

As they were about to leave the room, they heard a long, sharp scream coming from the containment room. They ran to the said room, and Harry was the first to enter with his wand at the ready. He saw the imp's body on the table at the end of the room, and looked sideways only to see Hermione in the corner of the room shaking.

"Hermione, what happened?" he said with concern as he reached her, and she answered with quivering voice "I-It's him; H-Harry, it's h-him"

"Who?" he looked at her in confusion, and she looked back with eyes full of fear "It's the same dead body I saw when we first came to this place"

Harry looked at her seriously before saying slowly "Are you sure, Hermione?"

"Absolutely!" she exclaimed in resolve that couldn't mask her fear "When I saw the body first time, I thought it was some kind of hallucination, but now I now it's real, very real"

She took a deep breath to calm herself, and he looked at her in confusion before stating with a comforting smile "Relax, Hermione. You were just hallucinating; nothing was here before now"

"I am not hallucinating" she retorted back in annoyance "I saw the bloody thing in this very room, on the same table" then she twisted her face as if she was trying to remember something "Yet I feel that this time it is somewhat different; like it is more solid … Somehow"

If she looked up at Harry at the moment, she would see the impact of her words upon him; his eyes gleamed intensely and his face turned stern. Only Ron caught a glimpse of his face changes before it turned back to its calm and friendly expressions.

"Hermione, look …" she turned to him as he addressed her "Whatever you saw here, it was just a mere hallucination; maybe it is due to the aggressive training you've been through"

"But I'm not" she tried to protest, but her words came out weak and unconvincing. She lowered he face and dropped her shoulder in surrender.

"I will escort you to your room" said Harry as he patted her on the shoulder, then he turned to the aurors who witnessed the whole event "Nothing to see here, return to your posts at once"

The aurors obeyed his command, and walked out on the room, but Ron remained and looked at Harry with a meaningful look. Harry didn't care to respond to his mate's looks and escorted Hermione back to her room, and from there he went straight to his office and assumed his place at his desk. He pulled out a piece of parchment and began to pour out all his troubled thoughts in a letter to an old friend.

_Dear Sensei_

_Do you remember when I told you about Hermione and her ability to resist the Imperius Curse? Well, it appears that this gift was only one of many she possesses; this time she 'dreamed' of my prophecy, the one you told me before. And that's not all, she claimed that she saw a dead body days before it was in place, and said that the image was translucent. I have a theory for all of this but I don't want to expose you to any bias. Also, I will leave Fawkes at your service until you find the right answer for all of this._

_Your Faithful Student_

_Harry Potter_

Harry folded the parchment and stood up, and walked toward the post where Fawkes was "Now Fawkes; go to Sensei and never return without a reply"

The regal bird sang soundly and nibbled with his fingers before it snatched the letter and disappeared in a twirl of flames. Harry looked at the empty post for a moment before turning back; and he saw Ron standing at the door.

"She was not hallucinating, was she?" the redhead said with a calm tone, and Harry sighed deeply "No, but I don't have an answer to this if that's what you want"

"I'm not looking for answers, but for opinions" said Ron "do you think that she will be safe around the body of the imp after all what happened?"

"I don't know" Harry said tensely "Everything concerning this mission is uncommon, but all what I know is that this is the safest place I came put her at" then he turned to his best mate "Our mission does not include her, Ron; but the imp's body and Flint, and right now part one is accomplished, time for part two"

Ron looked at his scar-headed friend for a minute, before shrugging carelessly "Whatever you say, mate" and they walked out of the office together marking the beginning of the second part of their plan, fox hunt.

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**_A/N:_** Soooooooorry, sorry for being late in updates, but it's work, as usual; also there are some issues regarding plot rearrangement, did I mention work?

Read & Review Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.


	5. Ambush

**_Disclaimer:_** For the umpteenth time, I do not own Harry Potter or any of J.K Rowling's character. I own the plot plus the OCs only, got it?!

**_A/N:_** Okay, this is the final chapter in this part. I know it's not much of a part compared to the first one, but you have to understand that it is an intermediate part that is written to show the progress in the relationship between Harry and Hermione. Well, I know that it is not much of a progress, but it is a progress nonetheless. For those who love to read about battle sequence, I give you this action-filled chapter. And I thank those who reviewed the story; I will not forget your kindness (sob) … Enough of that rubbish, and on with the story.

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_**Ambush**_

The clock announced it is midnight when the patrol guard yawned in boredom "Man, this night seems endless"

The second guard chuckled at his remark "Volunteer for three days in a row then after that you can talk about endless nights" the first guard chuckled back before asking "Say, I never saw anyone eager to patrol the outer perimeters. Having some trouble with the undergrounders?"

"Nah, just got bored guarding the corridors, I wanted to smell fresh air" the second guard replied waving his hand "Besides, I want to shoot that sonova who killed Alex, I want to shoot him myself"

The first guard retorted with a long whistle "Wow! What a motivation! But you are unlucky, because there seem to be no visual on that suspect"

"_petrificus Totalus_" the two guards fell on the ground as both of their bodies got hit by a binding spell that appeared out of nowhere, then a dark hooded figure with a silvery hand appeared out of nowhere.

"You know, people usually say a certain phrase in such circumstances" the hooded person said in a sarcastic tone before revealing his face "Speak of the Devil"

The hooded person, who was no other that Flint himself, laughed maliciously at the helpless guards before another hooded person appeared beside him "My Lord" the hooded person said as he revealed himself as Elias Swift, Flint's new aide, addressed his master "This is where the ward begins, we must tread carefully"

"I know, Elias; but we need to do a thing before advancing … You two" he pointed at a couple of nearby death eaters who appeared along with the rest of the attacking force "Use the polyjuice potion you've got in your possession, and take the place of these two muggles. Keep them alive or the potion might not work" The addressed death eaters obeyed his command; and as the finished the transformation, Rasputin arrived.

"About bloody time" said Flint to the arriving necromancer "I thought that you dozed off somewhere. If you were late by a minute, we would've been already inside, and you could've got into trouble following us"

"Relax, I may be blind, but I'm not stupid" replied the necromancer in irritating calmness "Besides, I can find my way around much better than you"

Flint grumbled at the cheeky remark, but didn't reply. Instead, he addressed him minions "Now, I want you to stick with the plan I laid. Two teams will descend through the ventilation shafts while the main force will stick with me. Now, go"

The death eaters move as he said, and Flint went through the main gates along with Swift and the elite death eaters, with Rasputin following them. They reached the main laboratory level in no time, which was in unusual silence.

"That's weird" Rasputin muttered, and Flint looked at him in concern "Are you sensing anything disturbing?"

"It is what I'm not sensing that is disturbing" the necromancer scowled as he replied "There is not a living soul in this area, not a single one" Flint felt annoyed at the situation, and he turned to his minions and ordered firmly "Be on your guards, I feel that Potter is concocting something" then he proceeded to the cryogenic chambers where the imp body is stored, and as soon as they entered, they were welcomed by the most unpleasant sight they would dream of.

"Morning, Flint" Harry greeted the young dark lord as a sly smile played on his face "You took longer than I expected"

"Potter …" Flint hissed and gripped his hand "You seem to be prepared, as always" he said as he noticed the dark blue globe surrounding Harry and his team of aurors, and the young auror replied with the same smile "You know, I was afraid that you would kill everyone on your way to here, so I ordered my team to hypnotize all the muggles in the facility and collect them in one place, then I simply applied a living dead potion around them just in case you tried to sense their presence; and ours if you catch my drift" he pointed at the globe surrounding them.

"Brilliant move, Potter, but that isn't enough to protect you and your team from our large number" said Flint with a smile of confidence, but the smile faded away as Harry's widened "If you are referring to your regular death eaters who are entering through the ventilation shafts now, then I advise you to wish them sweet dream; the shaft are rigged with potent sleeping draught that is able to knock out a huge ox, and my regular aurors are collecting your minions now in order to place them into custody" he pulled his wand swiftly before resuming "So, it is my elite against yours now"

"So foxy of you, Potter" Flint said gritting his teeth.

"A compliment from the Fox himself, such an honor" Harry retorted with a hint of sarcasm, then he noticed the presence of Rasputin "Never saw you before; don't tell me, Flint's new ally"

Rasputin smiled slyly "The name is Rasputin the Necromancer; I must say that I am honored to meet the legendary Harry Potter"

"A necromancer, you say" Harry in a low tone "Your presence means one thing, Flint's plan is almost complete" the necromancer's smile widened at the remark "It will be when I put my hands on the body of the last imp"

"Try to reach it first, necromancer" Harry said, and his words with a stunner, but it didn't reach Rasputin because of a shield erected by Flint.

"Death eaters, attack"

"Aurors, Charge" Flint and Harry yelled respectively, and the battle ensued.

The magical spells was cast at an outstanding rate that even Rasputin, who did not participate in the battle but stood idly, was amazed with the sheer power of the spells, especially the ones Harry was casting.

"What's the matter, Potter?" Flint said sarcastically as he dodged another spell of Harry's "Can't aim without your glasses?"

"Actually, I don't need them anymore. And I am aiming at you, I have something else for you" Harry said and pulled out a vial containing some translucent dark liquid and threw it at Flint, who dodge it barely and saw it as it hit one of his minions. Surprisingly, the death eater lowered his wand and looked as if he lost the will to fight, then he dropped to his knees and began to moan painfully.

"How do you like it, Flint?" Harry said "It's the Dementor draught; one vial contains a power equal to that of Dementors, apart from the kiss, of course"

"Incredible" Rasputin, who was not participating in the battle, whispered in amusement "Such intelligence, I should acquire it at all costs" then he remembered his goal "No time for that now, I need to get to the imp, fast" He easily mad his way through the battling wizards, and finally reached the chamber where the body is.

"At last" he said in victory "The body of the imp is mine" he opened the chamber forcible, and he scowled as he sensed the strong force field around it.

"Like the trick, necromancer?" Harry said slyly as he dodged another curse sent by Flint.

Rasputin tried to grab the body, but the force field pushed his hand away "An Impervious charm" he muttered "And I thought it is something more difficult. No matter" he extended his hand in front of the filed, and Harry's eyes widened at what happened.

"The Impervious charm is just a repelling magnetic field; one can disable it by simply applying a opposite-charged filed" said Rasputin, and applied his theory by emitting a force field against the charm, and it faded away "Now, it is mine … Wait a minute"

"What's the matter, necromancer; do your bloody thing and let's get going" Flint yelled at him, and Rasputin replied with the same sharp tone "This is not a real body, it's a decoy"

"What?!" Flint exclaimed in disbelief, then slowly turned to Harry and saw that he was smiling mischievously "You have become too slow, Flint"

"You …" Flint hissed in anger and gripped his wand "You toyed with me for too long, now you will pay"

"It's not over yet" Rasputin said firmly, and both leaders looked at him forgetting the battle "I can sense where the other imp is, let's try it" he concentrated his thoughts for a minute, then said suddenly "There …" and he disappeared in twirl of dark dust.

"What?!" it was Harry's time to exclaim in surprise, and he looked at Dick who was not in a better shape than him "B-But there is an anti-apparition ward around us, I sear I put it myself"

Harry looked annoyed, then heard a malicious laugh from Flint "Who's in an ambush now, Potter. Now, I will never allow you to exit this place until Rasputin finishes his inquisition"

Harry didn't say a word; instead he cast a powerful stunner at Flint before running toward the door.

"Swift, stop him!" Flint yelled at his aide, who jumped instantly at Harry.

"Bloody …" Harry muttered as he fell to the ground along with Swift, then he got up quickly and assumed a fighting stance "Out of the way, scoundrel"

"Not a chance" replied Swift as he assumed a similar stance "Our plan is almost complete, and you will not hinder it"

"_Stupefy_" fueled by his rage, a stunner erupted out the tip of Harry's wand and flew directly toward Swift, but there was one problem, though; Swift was not there.

"What the …" Harry exclaimed in surprise before feeling a solid punch landing on his face. He hit the ground hard, and then looked at the person who hit him, he was Swift himself.

"What do you think of my aide, Potter?" Flint, who observed the skirmish with apparent delight, said maliciously. Harry got up and wiped the blood that was seeping from the corner of his mouth before muttering "Impressive …"

"Since I heard about you, I longed to meet you. And when I heard of your return and your triumph over my fellow death eater, I was delighted; at last, someone worthy of my challenge emerged from the rubble of the stinking Auror Department" Swift said, and Harry looked at him cautiously "So, you desire to challenge me, I have to admit that I has been taken aback by your speed"

"I am what my name implies" Swift replied and bowed sarcastically "Elias Swift, at your service"

"I love to accept your challenge, but I have a pressing matter at hand" Harry said before pulling out his sword and waving it dangerously "Now … Move or die; your choice"

"Ooh, you don't want to accept my challenge; let's do it the hard way, then" Swift said before quickly jumping at Harry. Harry heard something cutting the air before him, so he left up his sword automatically, and to his surprise, a thin sword was blocked by it.

"You are not the only one with the talent of the sword; Potter" Swift, who was the owner of that sword said as he assumed his stance "My whole family has been professional with the sword since the day I knew them"

"Most impressive" Harry said with apparent delight "Then let's get over with it" and the swords clash.

No one counted how many sword hits both duelers had laid upon each other, but everyone sure go distracted from their own duels with the major one, even Flint couldn't help but to admire the speed and , the technique fighting spirit of both Harry and Swift. Harry was fighting with his favorite Iaido style, but Swift's style was a lot different; he fought using a rapier and with a style that is similar to that of the fencers. Finally, both swords clashed with each other, and Harry and Swift stood face to face as they entered a power struggle.

"How is your muggle harlot, Potter?" Swift hissed in Harry's ear, and the latter forze "Yes, I know all about you and your pitiful muggle companion. Although I have to admit that she got some good looks" Harry scowled at the last remark, and Swift resumed with wickedly "When I kill you, I will look for her and use her for my own pleasure, before I put an end to her miserable life"

"NEVER!!" Harry yelled in rage, and Swift felt an invisible force pushing him back and dropping him on the ground, then he stood up quickly looked at Harry in a mixture of fear and disbelief.

"I would've ripped you apart limb by limb if I had the time, but I have only two words for you" Harry said slowly before assuming his Phoenix stance "_Offendo Maxima_"

Swift felt himself being pushed away with a tremendous force after Harry pushed his open palm on his chest; the force of the knockout wave extended over the area of his body and took another three death eaters who were in the way of the wave, and they all together were pushed back forcible until they hit the wall at the end of the hall, and they all fell unconscious at the same moment.

"And that conclude our business" Harry said his usual trademark phrase before sprinting out of the room. Flint gapped at the results of the duel, and saw that not only one, but four of his elite got knocked out easily by a mere magical force sent released Harry.

"He is getting mightier and mightier every time we face him" he muttered to himself "Simply, he is … Outstanding"

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As soon as Harry reached the surface, he transformed to his Falcon animagus form, and began to soar toward the hideout.

'If that necromancer was able to sense the body as he claimed, then the trail will lead him to our hide out, and if he was able to access it, he will be alone with the body and …' the image of his bushy haired friend came to his mind 'Hermione …'

After ten minutes of flying, he was able to reach the sleepy town of Los Quatros. He landed behind the motel, and transformed back to his human form, and then he quickly walked in the motel, but what he saw inside was not pleasant.

The operating auror and the secret keeper of their hideout was dead, too dead to be precise. He was lying in a pool of his blood with his head wide opened and his brain mashed in a huge lump and thrown beside him. Even with all the dead he had seen, Harry couldn't help but to feel disgusted at the sight. He saw some bloody footprints on the stairs leading to the hideout, and he followed it inside.

He put his wand at the ready as he stepped cautiously inside the hideout, and then he felt a commotion coming out of the room where the imp's body is "I warned you, muggle, not to stand in my way. Now, you will pay the price by blood"

"_Bombarda_"

The door burst opened as the lock was forcibly blown by Harry, and he saw Rasputin holding Hermione by the neck lifting her two feet above the ground, and she was choking by his grip.

"Leave her alone, or else …" Harry said waving his wand warningly, and the evil necromancer replied in defiance "Or else what, Potter?"

"_Accio_" Harry yelled firmly, and Hermione screamed as she felt her body being pulled toward Harry, but Rasputin tightened his grip on her and she screamed in pain as she felt herself being pulled in two opposite ways.

"Bad choice of spells, Potter; now she will feel the pain of being torn apart" the blind necromancer said with a malicious laugh, and Harry had no choice but to release the spell, and Hermione felt relieved.

"You see, potter; I am in control now" Rasputin said confidently, and Harry glanced at him with a long look assessing the situation.

"You know, necromancer; I was saving this for someone else" Harry said as his right palm glowed in white "so be proud as I count you worthy of if"

"What are you …" Rasputin scowled as he inquired Harry, but was cut by Harry's yell "_Offendo_ …" then he pushed his palm not forward, but on the ground "_Maxima_"

The powerful surge of the knock out spell was swallowed by the ground, then suddenly, it appeared out of the wall behind Rasputin and hit him squarely on the back sending him flying forward. Hermione, too, was sent flying, and she screamed when she didn't feel any ground under her, but then silenced as she felt herself held securely. She looked up and saw that Harry got hold of her before she hit the ground.

"Hermione, are you okay?" he asked her in concern, and she answered despite being unstable "I'm alright; shaky a little, but alright" he smiled at her and put her gentle on her feet "I will grab the body of the imp, then we will go off this place, it's is dangerous in this so-called quiet hamlet"

"You will not go anywhere, Potter …" Harry and Hermione froze up as they heard the familiar voice echo, and Harry turned back only to see Rasputin standing on his feet fully awake.

"You should not be awake, the knockout wave hit you directly" Harry muttered in disbelief, and the necromancer smiled at the remark "But I'm not, and I must say that I'm impressed; I've never seen such creativity in any wizard, let alone a young one such as yourself. Magic through objects!! Who would've thought?!"

"What are you?!" Harry asked with an annoyed tone, and Rasputin sensed his discomfort and smiled "I used to be a mortal like you, but I've discarded this liability decades ago. You see, most necromancer consume the dead looking for answers from the past, but I traveled the world consuming the strongest and most unique creatures, magical and not, in order to gain power" then he folded his arms in front of his chest "And now, I threw the weakness of the mortals behind my back, and came up with the almost perfect body, this body you see"

"_Offendo Maxima_" Harry pushed the force through the ground again, and it appeared from above Rasputin and hit him directly on the head. Much to Harry's surprise, the necromancer didn't budge, and stood his grounds with a sarcastic smile playing on his face "Your puny trick won't work on me anymore, Auror Potter. I have already erected a shield around my body that can withstand the power of your spell; a creature's gift to me" he then moved toward the body of the imp "Now I should claim the body and be on my way, it will open the gate for me to obtain more power from the creatures of the other dimensions"

He extended his hand toward the imp, before feeling a powerful surge coming from Harry's direction, and felt a sharp pain in his hand as a deep wound was opened on it. He turned to Harry and felt a surge of power radiating from an object he was holding.

"Next time, I will amputate your whole arm" Harry said warningly, and the necromancer laughed manically "I told you that you are creative, slashing the air like that; yet, you are a slow learner"

His skin changed from normal white skin to dark skin "Now I am protected from your aero-slash" he was about to grab, and Hermione felt helplessly; every stunt Harry is pulling, this freak was able to protect himself from it. she turned toward Harry and was about to say something, but what she saw tied her tongue.

"What the …" Rasputin said as he felt the fire consuming the body of the imp "Noo, what have you done"

"Now, neither of us will gain benefit from the body" Harry said sarcastically, and Rasputin tried to know what kind of power Harry had shot, but only Hermione knew. Harry was holding a bow and an arrow made of fire that he erected out of nothing "Try to move and you will taste my fire arrow"

"Fire arrow" Rasputin repeated, then laughed "Such creativity, such creativity, but you still didn't learn your lesson; you shouldn't have told me about the element of your weapon, now I will protect myself from it"

"Blind Freak" Harry spat as the bow and arrow vanished, and Rasputin retorted "A freak to may be, but I am the most powerful creature you'll ever face, if you were distained to live afterwards. As for the blind matter, you are pretty mistaken" he rubbed his eyelids before continuing "I looked too long for a pair of eyes that would suit someone as mighty as me, but I couldn't find anything suitable except a pair of special eyes. Unfortunately those eyes are too dangerous to appear on public, that's why I should keep them concealed all the time"

"Basilisk's eyes" Harry muttered almost in a whisper, and took off his robes quickly "Hermione, shut your eyes"

"Bingo" the necromancer opened his eyes slowly; but Harry was able to cover Hermione with his robes "Stay hidden" he said to her before looking at Rasputin in the eyes with strong resolve.

"Why are you not dead?!" the freaky necromancer inquired with a scowl, and Harry replied slowly "Two words; Phoenix Blood" he said his words, then transformed quickly to his animagus form and flew directly toward Rasputin. He clawed his eyes with his talons, and the necromancer emitted the most fearsome pain scream Hermione could her. The falcon soared back to his place and transformed back to Harry; now the necromancer is blind for real.

"You can open your eyes, now Hermione" Harry said to her, and when she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the wounded necromancer.

"How dare you …" Rasputin bellowed "But no matter, I will sense your magic like before; no one can escape the bat sense; plus …" the necromancer smiled evilly as he commanded "Granger! Kill him!"

"Yes, master" Harry couldn't belief what he saw, Hermione looked vacantly at him and extended her arms in an attempt to choke him. in normal circumstances, Harry would've knocked the attack easily, but this is Hermione we are talking about, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her even if she tried to do that to him.

"What do you think, Potter? Tough situation, eh?" Rasputin said sarcastically "I was not playing during the time you took in coming to here"

"Hermione" Harry said weakly, but the look on her eyes was dead, and the necromancer laughed at his situation "You either kill her, or let her kill you. Either way you will be hurt"

"Hermione, please; push him away" Harry pleaded to her, and she suddenly stopped with her face twisting in a brilliant mixture of pain and sorrow "H-Harry, H-Help"

"Hermione …" Harry said as he felt helpless at the situation, then suddenly, Hermione moaned for a minute before screaming in rage "Out of my head"

The necromancer dropped on his back as the mental push Hermione gave him manifested itself physically "W-What?! How can a muggle push me away?!" but Harry didn't hear him as he was checking on Hermione.

"Hermione, are you alright?" he asked in concern, and she smiled at him weakly and answered "I pushed him away, just like you said to me"

"Good girl" he said with a smile, and Rasputin cried in apparent rage "I will consume her along with you in compensation for this insult

"Hermione, Step back … now" Harry muttered slowly, and she obeyed immediately, then Harry looked back at Rasputin "You seem to be tough, freak; but I have a solution for the likes of you" the next moment, Hermione saw Harry's aura shooting up the ceiling, but it didn't stop at that, the aura encircled both fighters shaping a force barrier around them.

"Wha-Where are you? What is that?" Rasputin exclaimed as his bat sense malfunctioned, he couldn't feel Harry anymore; instead, he felt a strong magical current surrounding him.

"I thought of a way to protect my friend here and contain you at the same time, and there was no other technique better than the Cantabrian Circle"

"I will kill you, Potter, and consume your body along with all the power it contains" the necromancer bellowed madly, and Harry replied in a dark tone "You are the one who will die today necromancer; you killed one of us in a gruesome manner and tried to kill my friend here. I will not forgive you"

"You are the one who will die, Potter. If you have forgotten, I am invincible" Rasputin yelled manically and attacked, but Harry was the fastest as he pulled out his wand and yelled "Vacuus"

The necromancer was caught off guard with the vacuum globe, and his scream didn't reach Harry as his body began to deform. Blood began to seep out of every opening in his body, and his skin wavered madly. Next, his body exploded to the outside, but the bits were contained by the barrier of the vacuum globe.

"And that concludes our business" Harry said before dropping to his knees, and the vacuum globe disappeared along with the Cantabrian circle causing the bit of the necromancer to drop on the ground.

"Harry …" Hermione called in worry as she walked over to him, and he smiled at her weakly "He is dead, it is over"

"I would love to say that, but Flint is still at large, if you haven't forgotten" she retorted, and he activated his headphone "Thank you for reminding me. Ron, do you read me"

"loud and clear, Harry" Ron said as his hologram appeared before Harry, and the latter asked "How is the situation down there?"

"Not good; the death eaters have escaped save two who were unconscious" Ron answered.

"Flint and Swift?" Harry asked, and Ron looked at him with discomfort "With the escapees"

"Don't worry, mate; mission accomplished. Return to the hideout and pack up" Harry said before looking at the remains of the necromancer "And there is some clean up to do"

"Aye, sir" Ron said happily, and ended the call. Harry looked back at Hermione, and saw her looking at him with questioning eyes.

"I know, I know; you want to ask how the mission is accomplished while Flint is still out there" he said in submission, and she retorted "You got it out of my mouth; then can you answer?"

"Well, Flint's detainment was considered a secondary objective, the first one was to protect the imp's body or dispose it if we couldn't" Harry answered

"But, aren't you peeved by his escape?" she asked him, and he took a deep breath before answering "I am, but what to do?" then he looked at her with a smile "Since we don't have anything to do here; let's go on a stroll, shall we?"

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_**A/N:**_ Finally, it is finished; there is still an appendix for Harry's Phoenix techniques that were used by him in this part. Appendixes are not necessarily in each part, but they can be found at the parts where I add a new spell created by me.

Read & Review Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease


	6. Appendix

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Harry Potter or any of J.K Rowling Characters … Lucky her. But I DO own the plot and the OOCs.

**_A/N:_** Again, I was able to 'obtain' some top secret documents from the Auror Department. Those dolt never imagined that I'm a metamorphmagus, and they never knew what hit 'em until it hit 'em, hehe … (Footsteps) Oops, I think they knew after all (Disapparate).

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Harry's Special Techniques

**A- Close-Quarters Magic:**

_**1- Ultimate Shockwave:**_

_Description:_

- Harry pushes his open palm onto the object's surface and unleashes an amplified force of his raw magic that causes the object to shatter in an instant.

_Weapon Used:_

Wandless Magic + Bare Fists

_Incantation:_

Offendo Maxima

_Waving Pattern:_

Open palm pressed against the object.

_Spell Strength:_

9/10

_Trivia:_

- The spell can shatter the hardest object, and there is not a single barrier that can withstand the sheer power of the spell.

- Harry does not need to mutter the incantation for the spell to take effect; but speaking it up might increase the power of the spell.

- The spell can be used from a distance, but its power will be similar to the normal shockwave.

- This spell consumes a lot of energy from Harry. Thus, the multiple use of it is not recommended because it may consume the raw magic to a critical level.

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_**2- Infusion:**_

_Description:_

Harry pushes his open palm against the intended object, and send his magic through this object until it reach the intended point, then shoot out.

_Weapons Used:_

Wandless Magic + bare Fists

_Incantation:_

None (Same of the spell used)

_Waving Pattern:_

Open palm pressed against the object.

_Spell Strength:_

-/10 (Depending on the spell used)

_Trivia:_

- It is actually not a spell, but it is the pure form of Harry's intent, as he imagines the intended spell pass through the intended object.

- The strength of the spell is the strength of the adjunct spell used.

- This technique is useful when fighting a cunning enemy, as the spell can be sent to his behind and attack him surprisingly.

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_**3- Cantabrian Circle:**_

_Description:_

- Harry's aura detaches from his body, and encircles him and his opponents.

- The aura is harmful to all but Harry, or those whom he intends to protect.

_Weapons used:_

Wandless Magic

_Incantation:_

None

_Waving Pattern:_

None

_Spell Strength:_

4/10

_Trivia:_

- The circle utilize one tenth of Harry's power only; that is because the partial aura gets amplified in size.

- The circle acts like a barrier, allowing only Harry to pass, or those he allows to; anyone else tries to pass through, will get shocked immediately.

- The circle is part of Harry's aura, thus confuse anyone how tries to pinpoint Harry's exact location by means of magic sense.

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**B- Phoenix Techniques:**

Phoenix Techniques are special magic and CQM used by those who specialize in elemental Fire/Aero magic, they can use fire and air in their attacks and transform the simple fire into a blaze and a breath of air to a tempest. Those techniques include Aero-Slash, Flaming Arrow, Fire Ring, among others. One of the most renowned wizards who used Phoenix Techniques was Albus Dumbledore, and now his successor in power is no other than Harry Potter.

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**_1- Aero-Slash:_**

_Description:_

Harry slashes the air in front of him creating a miniature impulse of pressure that cuts through barriers.

_Weapons used:_

Gryffindor Katana

_Incantation:_

None

_Spell Strength:_

9/10

_Trivia:_

- Aero-slash is a physical change in the air that causes it to cut like a sharp knife.

- The slash can cut anything a sword can. In addition, it cuts through metals and magical barriers.

- The slash is useful in reaching wizards who are constantly depending on their magical shields.

- If the slash came in contact with a vital point in the body, I can cause instant death.

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_**2- Flaming Arrow:**_

_Description:_

Harry is able to summon the fires of the Phoenix in the form of bow and arrow.

_Weapons Used:_

Wandless Magic

_Incantation:_

None

_Spell Strength:_

10/10

_Trivia:_

- Flaming Arrow is a one-of-a-king technique that compresses most of the magical potential into a tiny arrow made of flame.

- When the arrow hits its target, it sets it ablaze in a matter of seconds.

- The arrow penetrates all kind of magical shields, and melts the strongest metal.

- Its ability to burn depends on Harry's will.

- The arrow consumes considerable amount of Harry's magical energy, thus he can't use it on a regular.

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**_A/N:_** That's all for this for this part. If you have any question spinning in your head, you know the way to ask … Review. 

Read & Review Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease


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